


For You, I'd Change the Universe

by xxsilverlist



Category: Captain America (Movies), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Canon-Typical Violence, Crack, Fluff and Crack, Heartbreak, M/M, Multi, Peter Parker must be protected, Protective Bucky Barnes, So is Natasha, Steve is trying his best, The rest of the avengers - Freeform, Time Travel Fix-It, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, and guardians are there, and therapy, scott and clint dont know what the fuck they are doing but they are doing the most, theres a tag i didn't think id use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-05-07 00:35:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 38,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14659515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxsilverlist/pseuds/xxsilverlist
Summary: Time runs out for everyone.As the Avengers try to put back the missing pieces of their lives they mourn for the ones they've loved. They decide to do everything they can to get them back at whatever the cost. Defeating Thanos is just a side-step.Time travel is not what Steve expected.Natasha was hoping for more than time travelScott and Clint seem to be the only ones hyped about time travel.





	1. Walking Into Hell is Easier than it Looks

**Author's Note:**

> It always ends in a fight doesn’t it?  
> War would consume him.   
> And he would gladly walk into those flames for the one he loved.

He didn’t want to fight again.

 

He didn’t want to fight another war.

He wanted Steve to stay, to stop. To finally hang up the shield and get a night’s sleep. He wanted an apartment and a life without always picking up a weapon. A quiet life where he could lay low and not cause any more trouble. The Winter Soldier was no more.

 

_‘It always ends in a fight,’ he’s told Steve._

And it did.

Oh, Bucky knew what he was getting into when he befriended a little punk way back when, he had felt it was the highest honor of his life. Protecting Steve Rogers then being Captain America’s right-hand man, he knew what he was doing and he wasn’t complaining. It was just…. Seventy years was a long time and he had been made and unmade again and again and damnit Steve was just getting back from Ireland, they had a picnic planned.

Now the fight to end all fights, for real this time, was at their doorstep.

Here they were… again.

He threw logs, getting ready to chop the firewood minding the children that played on the other woodpiles. He liked it out here in the open air, liked the little one room hut that reminded him of his and Steve’s old apartment. He liked Wakanda in general and its people. T’Challa and Shuri had done so much more than he could’ve ever hoped for.

Shuri even showed him vines and memes. Those, those were helpful.

He could hear them now, talking quietly as they walked towards him lugging something heavy behind them.

“Sergeant Barnes,” T’Challa calls urgently, “We need you!”

Bucky bites his lip, hauls another log into a pile. Don’t call me that anymore. He doesn’t deserve any titles anymore its either Bucky or White Wolf these days. To the rest of the world he’s still the infamous Winter Soldier. Who needs to pay for his crimes.

“Steve needs your help.” Shuri adds in dropping a metal briefcase on top of his wood pile. Thanks.

“What did my idiot get himself into this time?” Bucky asks letting out a long sigh.

T’Challa runs it down for him and its worse than he thought. The kids had only told him so much this was so much more worse.

He thinks of the picnic they were supposed to have this evening when Steve flew in, it probably wouldn’t be happening

“I’ll need to think about it,” he grumbles turning back to head to his hut.

“We have hours, a day at most. Steve’s arriving within the hour.” T’Challa says in that smooth voice that makes people think everything is going to be ok, to go ahead and tell him all your problems.

“And if I say no? I’m done fighting,” Bucky tries to put on his best murder face but Shuri has seen him at every stage of recovery and merely glares at him, T’Challa simply nods like he understands.

“At least accept this, you will need to protect this village and its people if you are not going to fight the war,” Shuri says opening up the briefcase.

The arm is beautiful, designed just the way Steve had drawn it brought to life thanks to Shuri and her team. He doesn’t want it.

Bucky sighs, thing was whenever Steve called he would follow. He’s made a promise and Bucky intended to keep it. He wouldn’t deny Steve not if the fate of the universe was at stake. Bucky tried not to let his mind wander to what could happen if he decided to stay to protect this little village instead and not be at Steve’s side.

No, his mind was made up.

Bucky shakes his head. ‘Til the end of the line, that was his promise Bucky intended to keep it no matter what the outcome.

“Take me to the palace.”

 

~

_“How’ve you been Buck?”_

_“Not bad, for the end of the world.”_

There’s a shatter, a loud crunch before Bucky realizes that he broke his glass on the ebony table, his new arm whirring as it digs into the wood. _Ooops_. T’Challa and Sam sigh, the king pinching the bridge of his nose while Sam and Natasha share a look. Bruce gives him a tight smile offering a napkin to pick up the glass.

Bucky sits across from Steve at the dinner table, one last meal the whole of them will share before they all go out to die because really, Stark isn’t here and neither is Thor or the Spider guy and the Ant dude… it’s the end of the world damnit there isn’t a way they are all making it out alive.

Steve glares at him setting his glass down much more delicately. “Problem with the new arm? Shuri should take a look at it if there’s one.”

Bucky smiles feeling his temper ignite.

Stands slowly, drawing out the moment as he stands to his full height.

“You shouldn’t have to fight this war! The world doesn’t deserve you Steve, you’ve had your fun but it is over. This is it! There are plenty of soldiers to fight this war, you shouldn’t be one of them.” He lets it out in one big rush before the tears can come to his eyes.

Steve matches his look, still sitting. “I’m not asking you to fight for me or with me. You have a choice Buck.” His gaze softens as his eyes grow stormy. “I’ve already made mine.”

Bucky hates to be the dramatic one in this relationship (it’s usually Steve) but it is the end of the world.   
“You goddamn self-righteous prick, always having to do the fucking noble thing!” He screams tosses a hard-boiled egg at Steve and promptly storms off away from the dining area where he can hear the beginnings of Sam’s laughter.

Another self-righteous prick.

 

 

 

“Bucky, wait up!” Steve calls, his footsteps heavy. “Bucky, please slow down.”

He slows down his emotions finally getting the better of him.

He turns arms open as Steve crashes into him. He holds onto him, holds on for dear life.

They stay like that for what feel like an eternity, just holding each other has Bucky cries. Ugly, loud sobs that wreck his chest and Steve’s heart. At this point let all of Wakanda, the universe, hear him cry its about damn time they heard the Winter Soldier cry into the arms of the man he loves.

 

Love that’s why they are doing this right? Because love is such a goddamn beautiful thing worth fighting for. Love is the reason everyone wakes up in the morning and decides they are going to war. To have someone love you and to love someone so purely it makes your soul burn. Every type of love possible, that what they were fighting for.

 

“Shhh, Bucky, Shh. What’s the matter?” Steve murmurs dragging fingers through his hair.

“I can’t, Stevie I can’t,” He sobs pushing away from Steve until his back hit the palace wall and he lets himself sink to the floor. “This is a war where none of us come out of this alive.”

“I just got my life back,” he whispers so quietly he doesn’t think Steve hears.

He does. Steve pulls him up gently, blue eyes searching his looking for an answer.

Steve must find one because he nods and wipes Bucky’s eyes carefully with his thumb, “Then we watch the end of the world from our bed.” He traces Bucky’s features softly, taking extra time around his lips and nose.

Bucky stares at Steve, stares for what must be a lifetime but then he’s reaching. Pulling Steve to him and kissing him so hard he wonders if lips can bruise. He knows they can.

He doesn’t let up, sliding his tongue into Steve’s and fucking inhaling him. Steve tangles hands in his hair, tugging and pulling in all the right places making him moan out. He backs up slamming against the wall for a split second before Steve is lifting and Bucky wraps his legs around his waist.

They kiss Bucky clawing at Steve’s clothes while Steve’s lips trail down to his neck nipping and biting his way down Bucky’s neck.

Bucky digs his hand into the wall, the concrete and dry wall crumbling beneath his metal hand.

Steve snorts, lowering him but still pressing kisses to his face. “Lets go somewhere else?”

Bucky laughs still shaking. “Sure, why not.”

He laces their fingers together and they walk down the hallway quietly, like a pair of shadows. Shuri would later swear she saw their shadows, twisted looking like their old selves.

~

They don’t get very far once they reach their bed. Bucky is exhausted and so is Steve.

They lie in bed, half dressed. Bucky’s pants tugged halfway down his ass but he doesn’t mind, Steve lays on his chest tracing patterns into his skin.

Before he falls asleep he asks, “Do you mean it?”

Steve nods, grasping his hand tighter. “Of course.”

Bucky closes his eyes finally letting sleep overtake him.

~

 

The alarm sounds too early in the morning, in fact its’ still dark outside.

Steve jumps awake reaching for the Kimoyo beads and flicking them on. Its Shuri.

“They’re here, scouting. We have an hour at most, suit up.” The line flickers and goes dead.

Bucky sits up, pushing back his hair. Don’t do this to me, Steve don’t. “Steve.”

“We’re out numbered as it is Buck, I have to go.” Steve heads to where his suit lays, the new shields Shuri made laying next to it. He remembers when Steve tore out the star claiming he didn’t represent a flag anymore.

“I understand if you choose to stay Bucky, but I can’t.”

Bucky knows his window to make up his mind is closing with each article of clothing Steve puts on.

By the time Steve tugs on the shields he stands. “Can’t let your dumbass run out into battle, probably get shot or something without me.”

“Buck.”

“You’re sucha goddamn punk Steve Rogers, who let you be in charge of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?” He gives a tight smile and walks towards the closet, throws open the doors wide.

“Jerk, you did apparently.” Steve laughs walking up to him. He lets him wrap his arms around him, taking in Steve’s scent one more time. “You sure about this?”

Bucky reaches for his rifle. “Absolutely.”

~

~

~

 

War, it consumes you.

Bucky tries not think about it too much as he stands next to Steve watching literal goddamn aliens claw at Wakanda’s border. Guess Steve wasn’t lying about the first alien invasion after all.

Seventy years and he can’t get one break. He sighs, loudly.

Natasha elbows him in the gut. Hard. Bucky tries not to lose his breath. “No time for melodramatics.”

“Says the actual Russian,” He snarks back. Natasha shrugs like ‘what can you do about it, I’m Russian.’

Steve leans in closer to him a playful smile on his lips. “‘til the end of the line Buck.”

Bucky rolls his eye dragging Steve in for a quick kiss. “‘til the end of the line.” He says gravely.

A crash pulls their attention to the border where the aliens are coming through a single entrance.  It’ll all end here.

 

~

~

~

He screams, shooting at Thanos if it means that big fuck takes him instead of Steve. Idiot, Bucky wants to scream. Why are you trying to hold him off with your bare hands?

Thanos raises his fist and Bucky shoots the bullets shifting his fist just enough that it catches Steve’s jaw not his temple. Not a kill shot. He runs, screaming into the fray,

He doesn’t know about the others, just knows this concern is Steve and Vision, Wanda if he can manage to drag her out too.

Bucky catches Steve’s eye for a moment, the desperate crazed look in his eyes tells him what Bucky already knows. They’re not walking out of this together, its only a question of who. They should’ve stayed in bed.

He doesn’t see Thanos’ fist swinging at him until its an inch away.

He lands flat on his back, air knocked out of him as Bucky reaches for his knife. He gets a good swipe in but its no use the second round about it gets knocked from his hand too out reach. Get up, get up, get up he yells at himself. He can’t see Vision or Wanda. He can’t see Steve, what the hell? There's stars in his eyes and he can't focus on the trees in front of him, he rubs at his eyes blindly before letting the encroaching darkness take over.

The world goes white and Bucky takes a deep breathe in.

 

 

“We did it,” Wanda sobs out falling to her knees.

Bucky sits up still gasping for air and clutching the side of his head. Then why does it feel wrong.

He watches Steve sit up from five feet away, grinning at him like he wasn’t looking at him with fear and desperation in his eyes one minute ago.

There are words on the tip of his tongue when there’s a pop in the air and Thanos comes through.

No, no, no… No!

They all lurch forward, trying to get up on their feet, weapons raised warily. It’s not enough, never was.

Vision slumps over, the mind stone violently ripped from his head. It’s all over, Bucky swallows hard trying to block out Wanda’s screams.

A blast of lighting and a charge of electricity, Bucky lays back as Thor’s axe pierces Thanos. Fucking finally Bucky wants to scream out but there’s still a charge in the air and Thanos is still talking.

Spare us, please. He thinks wishing maybe for once things will go his way.

A snap of Thano’s fingers and the world goes too bright once more.

 

 

He doesn’t feel right. It feels like his insides are on fire and he’s known what that feels like quite well actually. Get up, he tells his brain but he can merely stagger upright. Get to Steve Bucky commands himself dragging one foot in front of the other. It makes the burning worse.

Steve is looking down at Vision, one more step, what is going on? Has he been shot? Was there shrapnel? Bucky just knows that it hurts. Steve is talking to Thor, pointing at Vision and raising a brow. Look at me Steven.

He pushes two more steps before he feels it, that nothingness.

“Steve?” He calls out.

His love turns around, you can do it three more steps.

Bucky locks eyes with him, trying to say everything in a look _; I told you, I’m sorry, I love you, it had to be one of us._

Steve takes a step forward but its too late.

Bucky can already feel himself _falling, fading_ …

 

War consumes him and he walks into the flames


	2. I Won't Weep for You, but I'll remember you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha didn't ask for the end of the world to happen, but it did. Doesn't mean it hurts any less that half of her closest friends are gone.   
> She picks up the pieces until she can smile again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blood drips from her fingertips  
> She used to love Battle  
> Blood drips as she wipes her eyes free of it

Natasha felt herself sink to the floor her eyes never moving from the spot Bucky had just been standing at. Where Wanda had been cradling Vision’s body.

She felt sick. It took ten deep breaths to get her breathing back to normal. To let the wave of nausea pass through her.

Natasha didn’t even want to look at Steve, then she really would lose it.

She chooses to look at Visions body instead, a gaping hole where the mind stone should’ve been.  Oh Wanda… Oh Vis. She wishes there was a way they could all brush this off as just casualties of war but its not.

This was something completely else. This was the fate of the universe; half the universe was gone. It was a startling thought. Half the universe was gone and Natasha wasn’t sure if there was a way to bring it back this time.

“Cap we need to get moving, find survivors,” Rhodey’s voice trails in, himself limping towards them a minute later almost like his legs weren't working as well anymore. Where was Tony? Why wasn’t he here? Was Bruce gone as well?

“No,” Steve whispers sinking his hands into the soil. “Oh god.”

Natasha can’t move even if she wants to, oh god she wants to move towards Steve and give him a hug or maybe shake him out of it.

Barnes… it doesn’t make sense why him? Out of anyone why him? He deserved the chance to live, not her.

“Don’t say that Nat,” Rhodey places a hand on her shoulder. He shakes his head. “Not now, we don’t even know what happened.”

“He’s gone! That’s what happened,” Steve growls his eyes watering. “They’re all gone.” Natasha feels her eyes swell with tears, Rhodey’s hand get tighter on her shoulder. She hadn’t even felt herself begin to shake.

Steve wipes at his eyes, shrinking in on himself. Sam, Sam wasn’t here either. Natasha feels the tears drip as Steve lets out a sob, Thor dropping into the ground next to Steve tears streaming down his own face.

“I have failed,” He says quietly.

Maybe they could all lay here and waste away, the Avengers weren’t mighty anymore. Brought to heel by six stones and a mad Titan. Natasha wishes there was something they could’ve done differently but everything still makes sense in her head up until the point Thanos snapped his fingers.

After that it gets blurry and now here they are sobbing in a circle.

Rocket slinks in and a few of the Dora Milaje, was T’Challa gone too? Where was Shuri? Natasha lifts her head and stares at Steve until Steve looks at her.

“Wakanda’s without a ruler.”

All Steve can do is look down cheeks burning bright. He didn’t care anymore. Natasha can read it in his features, he doesn’t care about the fate of the world anymore, not with everything precious to him gone or burning.

 

They sit in silence for so long that the sun begins to set.

There’s rustling in the trees but Natasha finds that she herself can’t lift her pistol without her hand shaking so hard she’d probably shoot one of them in the ass and not an alien.

“Get up! Get up the lot of you!” Shuri yells running into view. “Wakanda is vulnerable and you are all sitting on your asses.”

She runs towards Rocket and hauls him up then follows with Thor, staggering under his weight to get her footing back. “Get up you,” She points to Steve but leaves him alone instead moving to Natasha.

She lets herself get pulled up by the teenager who has so much fire in her, it reminds Natasha of something she can’t quite put a name on.

“You may have lost your beloved but I have lost a brother and a king,” Shuri grinds out, trying to keep Natasha upright. “That makes me queen and we need to get back to the palace.”

The remaining Dora snap into a salute realizing what Shuri is saying is the truth. Steve manages to get up on a knee, his head bowed.

A teenager is now the queen of Wakanda.

~

Days pass and they work on getting Wakanda secured again.

There’s two whole weeks dedicated to burying empty coffins and carving headstones that leave more questions than answers and a mass grave at the edge of the kingdom.

They start rebuilding the palace, Shuri refuses to wear her brothers crown saying she’ll fix this one way or the other. Everyone else including her mother still call her queen and Her Majesty.

Natasha keeps an eye on Steve and in turn Thor keeps an eye on them both. He refuses to go back to space to try and find the others but sends Rocket with a message to anyone willing to fight to come to earth. Natasha sends him back with a vial of Groot’s ashes.

Bruce in turn takes care of all them, most importantly Shuri. He makes sure they all file in every night to the dining room and eat more than three bites of food, dragging Shuri out of her lab kicking and screaming most days than not. Bruce sets Wakanda’s best healers and therapist out on the kingdom to help its people, but not before wrangling each of them to see a doctor.  Okoye makes sure they all keep their minds busy, making build and rebuild damaged parts of the city, pass out food and clothes and on some days train. Natasha likes the feel of her knuckles hitting the leather punching bags over and over.

 

Weeks pass and they send out a signal to any enhanced and any government willing to listen to them.

Reports flood in that cities are gone, populations cut in half. Entire countries wiped out. It’s madness happening right in front of their eyes.

 

 

 

“He refuses to come back,” Bruce tells Natasha and Steve one night as he sips on herbal tea. She can see the tears glistening in his eyes, the veins on his neck turning a slight green. “I’ve tried everything. I’m afraid if I push to hard I’ll lose him completely.”

Steve pours him a glass of vodka, a rare import they save for occasions like this, pushing it into his hands. “Drink.”

“You know I didn’t think I would miss him,” Bruce continues after downing the drink in one go. “Now I just feel small and open.”

Natasha pours each of them another round, her contacts in Moscow better come through with two more bottles by the end of the week. They go through alcohol too fast these days to not keep a large supply.

“I’m no hero,” Bruce whispers knocking back another shot. “Not anymore.”

Natasha and Steve share a look. Steve gives her a sad smile his eyes watering, Natasha shakes her head sipping on her own vodka. No, they weren’t heroes anymore.

~

~

 

Natasha tries to get a message to Clint months later after communication lines go down for a week. Another occurrence that comes with the end of the world, nobody knows how to handle shit anymore. Luckily for her she knows a thing or two about handling shit.

“Find Scott,” She hisses into the cracked screen, “Get you and your families to Wakanda before Shuri closes the border for good.” The screen goes dark and Natasha groans hoping the message gets through. What she would give to have Fury and Hill here taking charge of the situation. But even they are M.I.A.

Steve raises a brow at her long enough that it could almost read as surprise, “Shuri’s closing the border?” Natasha wants to yell at him, to tell him to snap out of it. Wants to scream at him to pay attention to the madness in Shuri’s eyes to how the rest of the world is crumbling and Wakanda can’t support it anymore. She won’t though, not when Steve sneaks into her room at night crying from grief and nightmares, sobbing until he passes out in her bed.

“Yes, Wakanda cannot support its current population for much longer. Shuri decided to close the borders once more. For good.”

Steve only sighs flipping open the compass that hold Peggy’s and now Bucky’s photo in it. “He asked me to stay, for both of us to stay in our rooms that day. I told him I would—” He breaks off choking on his emotions. “I didn’t and now look where it got us.”

“Oh Steve,” Natasha mutters but makes her way to him, pulling him to her chest. “None of this is our fault, any of ours.” They sit like that for hours, Natasha holding Steve close to her as she watches the rain streak down the windows in her room. 

"None of this is our fault."

 

 

 

There’s whispers of a woman with powers equal to Thor flying around the globe, fixing cities and soothing minds.

Captain Marvel is a bitter taste on Natasha’s tongue. She’s grateful though, someone is doing the job the Avengers should. Maybe Clint and Scott will join up with her, they never made it Wakanda and the border is now sealed. No favors even for Shuri’s council.

The young queen rules with the grace of her brother but with more nerve, with the eyes of a child who’s seen too much bloodshed. Time has tempered her out, she no longer threatens to blow up the rest of the world or to fly into space herself to beat the shit out of Thanos.

The remaining Avengers turn their backs on the TV’s that call them cowards as they grieve.

Rhodey throws out all the electronics in his room eight months after Peter and Tony go missing. The news rules them as dead.

He mutters something about sending a letter to Peter’s aunt. Natasha wants to believe Thor’s theory that they are safe with these Guardians he talks so much about.

~

A year and a handful of weeks pass and there’s an air of normalcy in the Palace again. They’ve all learned how to smile again, even if they can’t laugh, although Steve’s are fewer and rarer.

The world spins on even though Natasha will tell anyone who asks that it doesn’t feel right. There’s a bubble hanging over the world getting ready to pop. She can feel it. The very thought of Thanos dropping back down in Wakanda unnerves her.

 

 

It’s a quiet night where all of them are in the throne room playing board games and cards, something Shuri’s mother made them all do so the lot of them wouldn’t rot in their rooms. It’s actually the highlight of their week now.

Once it was movie night in Avengers tower now its game night in Shuri’s throne room.

There’s food and smiles and really for the end of the world Natasha wouldn’t ask for anything else. Wounds are healing and the worst of it is in the past.

Natasha is about to lay down her winning piece, sticking her tongue out at Steve when there’s a loud POP and a burst of lightning spits out Rocket…

…And Tony and

“Valkyrie!”

Thor booms rushing towards the four of them. 

Natasha and Rhodey run towards Stark staring at him in disbelief. He looks mad, a little unhinged but he’s here and alive. Her heart drops when she notices Peter isn’t with him, but the look in Tony’s eyes tells her not to ask about it. Natasha wants to ignore the blue and silver alien standing next to Tony giving her a glare the mother country would've been proud of.

Natasha promptly slaps him. “Its been a year Stark, Rocket its been a year!” Natasha spins around yelling at the raccoon and pointing a finger at him.

Rocket shrugs, “Sorry Miss Kick-ass was a little harder to find and a lot harder to keep.”

Natasha turns to see Thor and the woman embrace, sharing tears for Loki.

 

“Come sit, join us,” Shuri chimes in giving a bright smile. “There’s plenty for us all.” She waves to heaps of food in a corner of the throne room kept hot and ready.

 

“Its great to be back,” Stark mutters just loud enough for Natasha to hear. She nods giving a bright smile.

“Steve,” Stark exhales sharply.

“Tony,” Steve stands, reaching out a hand.

There’s a snap and Natasha swears she hears a mad laugh and the world goes so bright Natasha screws her eyes shut and lets out a stream of curses in Russian.

 

~

 

~

 

~

 

The dust settles and Natasha pulls out her pistols.

“That’s my secret Captain,” Banner growls. “I’m always angry.”

The smoke clears as the Hulk comes into view, fists slamming into the space whale, and Barton shoots an arrow into the distance.

“Widow stay with Hawkeye,” Steve yells out before making a run for it in the opposite direction.

 

“Just like Budapest all over again,” Barton winks at her.

 

_What the fuck?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaanndd this where we will alternate P.O.Vs for a while....   
> again thank you for reading this, comments and kudos feed my soul :)


	3. So, You End Up in a Different Timeline....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve tries to figure out his purpose in 2012... all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why should the Soldier still have faith in Humanity?   
> When Humanity has left him behind  
> Scarred, Broken, Helpless  
> The Soldier bows his head, continues the fight

Steve slams his shield into a Chitauri alien, slicing the head clean off. Why does it feel like he’s been here before? His body reacts before his mind can, dropping low before jumping up high and sending the shield straight into a swarm of aliens knocking them all over.

I’ve done this before, he thinks but his mind offers up no memories just images of a throne room and white light. If he thinks hard enough he can picture a giant purple alien snapping a stone in place, Bucky falling and turning to ash.

What was going on?

“What was that Cap?’ Stark yells through the comms startling Steve into realizing he was talking to himself again.

“Nothing, just thinking,” He grunts breaking into a run down the street to where Clint and Natasha need back up.

“Well don’t think too hard don’t want your face to get stuck looking like that,” Stark offers with a laugh shooting a beam overhead. It hits a few of the flying ones but misses Loki completely.

Loki.

Thor was just mourning Loki’s death, wasn’t he?

Steve shakes his head, something was wrong. Something was off. He swings his shield again protecting Natasha just in time. Natasha grips him closer burying her face in his neck, her fingers digging into his shoulder hard.

“Does something feel off to you?’ She whispers, shooting over Steve’s shield.

“You too huh?” Steve asks. “I have this feeling that we already fought this battle but I can’t seem to remember anything else.”

“Except white light?”

“Yeah.”

Natasha straightens sending a few more rounds into the air before looking up at the sky. “Mind giving me a lift?” Steve laughs, they’ve done this before he’s sure of it.

“Not scared Romanov?”

She shrugs delicately and smirks, “It’ll be fun.” She breaks into a run giving Steve only seconds to get into position. His body remembers the move his mind doesn’t and his arms and shield absorb her energy perfectly before launching her into the air.

Steve smiles watching Natasha drag herself up onto a space motorcycle.

He meets Clint’s eyes, the archer giving him a strange look. “I ain’t tossing you up!”

Clint flinches before laughing and flipping him off, “Already got a lift Cap.” Stark drops down from the air just long enough to scoop up Clint bridal style and take off into the air heading for the tower.

 

Steve’s about to turn around and make his way towards the tower as well when something small hits him in the face. “Ow?”

“Pssst down here,” a voice calls and Steve spins around his shield ready to be thrown. There’s no one in sight just rubble for miles. “I said down here!”

Steve looks down at the broken concrete still confused as to what he should be seeing. “Goddamit Cap.”

Steve stumbles back as a man pops up… dressed as an Ant? He has truly seen just about everything this new century has to offer.

“Captain America its an honor to save the universe with you again,” The man says gripping Steve’s arms just a little too tight

“Who are you?” Steve pulls away looking up and down the streets for some form of life but there isn’t any, no sign of the rest of the team either. They’re far away from them heading towards Stark Tower to deal with Loki.

The mans face falls, his eager smile turning grim. “You don’t remember me? I’m Scott Lang you know… Ant-Man?” Scott looks at him seriously the laughter in his eyes gone. “We fought together in the Civil War… I helped you and Barnes get to Siberia?”

Steve can feel his head spinning so much he plops down on the floor and puts his head between his knees taking three breaths in and three breaths out. “Bucky’s alive? I saw him fall with my own eyes.”

He feels rather than sees Scott squat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Okay I need to page in Clint and see what the hell is going on but you just sit right there and take a few more deep breaths for me.”

Scott stands and moves away talking into a device on his wrist. “Hawkeye come in?”

There’s bits and flashes Steve can’t put together, the words civil war mean something to him and not just in U.S History terms, he can picture himself going toe to toe with Stark, slamming his shield into the Arc Reactor before picking Bucky up his arm blown off. There’s a jungle and a king offering peace and shelter. There’s white light and Steve screws his eyes tighter as the pain in his head turns too strong even for him.

“Cap come in?” Its Natasha speaking through the comms sounding a bit worried. “Stark just flew into space with a nuke, do I close the portal?”

People are filling the streets again looking up at the view of Iron Man flying through the wormhole into space. Steve stands looking up as well, why does this feel familiar? “Hey Scott…” Steve turns around looking for the other man but he’s already long gone, faded into the crowds.

“Close it!” He yells into the comms before making a run for the Tower.

“Wait, he made it through!” Thor bellows and Steve can hear the faint clink of his hammer. Steve presses on harder trying to get between civilians and the police trying to keep them off the street.

He runs until he spots Thor twirling his hammer and looking up at the sky. “Whats wrong?”

“He’s not slowing down,” Thor grumbles bracing himself to jump up, Steve squints up at the sky watching as yes, Stark isn’t slowing down in fact he is picking up speed turning head over heel in the suit.

“My god Stark,” Steve whispers wishing for Thor to get to him in time when there’s a deafening roar and Steve sees the Hulk jump off a building and into the air promptly catching Stark in his hand. Then slams him into the face of another building before the Hulk slides down onto the street.

Steve has to hold in a laugh as the Hulk drops Stark ungracefully onto the floor. “Natasha close it!” he yells instead before moving towards Stark who is looking up at him with a smile on his face.

“So shawarma?”

~

**One Week Later**

Steve’s on his way down to the main floor to finally leave Stark tower for good and never look back when his world goes upside and he finds himself in a choke-hold by a certain redhead. He rolls the both of them before standing up and gently, maybe not so gently, pushing Natasha away from him.

“What was that for Natasha? I can’t stay in this tower knowing Bucky’s alive out there,” He grumbles crossing his arms over his chest.

Natasha gives him a bored look before pointing up, “We both know things aren’t what they are. Clint has the answers follow me.”

There’s another flash and an image of the team sitting around the t.v in the common area drinking and laughing before a robot crashes through the elevators and everything goes to shit.

Steve decides it might actually be a good idea to listen to Natasha this one time.

 

She takes him to a bare office the walls painted an off white and boring dark brown carpet on the floor the only furniture in the room is a large round table and twelve leather chairs that look just a little to comfortable for Steve.

“What is this?” he says ignoring Clint and Scott sitting in the middle of the table with a box of pizza.

Natasha sighs and looks at the two men on the table before looking at Steve, “Tony’s prototype office for the Avengers if any of us decided to stay longer than a week.” She walks over to the table and swipes a slice of pizza.

“Hey!” Clint and Scott protest in unison.

Natasha swallows her mouthful of pizza before speaking again, “He wanted us to all have equal say in matters, hence the round table, and he made sure there was enough room incase more Avengers popped up.”

“There’s more enhanced running around the city?”

“Not just the New York,” Scott interrupts, “Try the whole world.”

“You know this how?” Steve asks glaring at the two men who seem just the slightest bit off.

“Because we’re from the future and we say so,” Clint shrugs downing a can of root beer.

Steve is about to back out because nope this isn’t what he signed on for, fighting aliens was something he barely signed on for and there was a motorcycle in the parking garage waiting to take him to D.C.

He’s shaking his head and reaching for the door handle when both doors fly open and a woman walks through. She’s wearing a body suit like Natasha’s except hers in blue and red, a gold star emblazoned across her chest, short blonde hair floating away from her like it has a consciousness of it’s own.

“This is what happens when I let you two clowns time jump instead of me, they don’t have their memories Barton, Lang!” the woman scolds giving both men a glare before turning a charming smile towards Steve and Natasha. Then promptly hit them both on the head with her hand.

“Welcome Captain America, Black Widow. I am—”

“Captain Marvel,” Natasha whispers reaching out her hand. “I tried to get a wire out to Clint before communication lines went dead.” 

“You remember?” The Captain asks looking amused.

“Bits and pieces,” Steve cuts in, “Though Natasha never told me she tried to contact you.”

His memories come back to him, in flashes and painful bursts. The years ahead of him after this battle; the Age of Ultron, The fall of SHIELD, Civil War. Visiting Wakanda before the end of the world. The end of the world, Bucky disappearing before his eyes. The anger and hurt of everyone in the weeks after that day.

He can see Natasha remembering as well, tears in her eyes and her gaze never leaving Clint’s. There’s Shuri as queen crying about how it isn’t right she shouldn’t be wearing her brothers crown. Natasha and Steve sharing a room because they think the other might disappear in the night. Sometimes Bruce joins them and they all pile into the plush bed, clinging to each other while they sleep.

A burst of bright light and Rocket falling through Space with Stark, another Asgardian and a blue alien. A crack of lightning and the universe folding on itself, spitting them out here.

In 2012.

“We need to stop Thanos,” Captain Marvel whispers, walking towards the table and all but throwing herself into a chair. “We can’t keep jumping through time to keep the stone away from him, he’ll figure it out eventually.”

“You have the time stone?” Steve asks, slinking into a chair himself.

The Captain waves him off, pointing between Clint and Scott. “I trust you two to take care of this. I need to talk to Fury, you four need to talk to Loki. Give him this, its from Thor and he’ll know its from the future. Get back to 2018.”

With a rush of air and a burst of energy she leaves the tower, not a pizza slice out of place or a window broken.

“Now that’s a wom—”

The look Natasha gives Scott a look that shuts him up long enough to look embarrassed.

“So how do we get back to 2018?”

~

Two pizzas and a bottle of wine later Natasha, Steve and Clint sat around the table watching as Scott drew his tenth idea on the white board in the room. It involved both an army of ants and wasps and driving to Asgard to talk to Loki in a minivan.

Steve pushes the bottle of wine towards Natasha and drops his head onto the table absolutely sure that they were never going back to their own time. How could they? and in all honesty, Steve wasn’t sure he wanted to go back. There was only grief and despair and endless battles to be fought. He didn’t want that anymore, not when he lost something he loved in the aftermath.

“So, Clint and Scott you guys have the time stone. What is Captain Marvel doing exactly?” Natasha says trying her best to look bored.

Scott drops the dry erase marker and puts his hands on hips, “Um I don’t know exactly, Clint what’s she doing?”

Clint twirls his glass watching the last few drops of wine spin around. “She going into space and trying to steal back the stones, she managed to grab the time stone before she realized Dr. Strange wasn’t exactly around so she popped in and gave it to us.”

“And this is where it gets interesting,” Scott interrupts wiping down the board and picking up the marker again. “She told us to find Loki and get him to hide the tesseract before Thanos realizes he has it and drop off his scepter who know where’s.”

“Yes we get all that,” Steve cuts in, cringing at the crude drawing Scott was making on the board. Their heads shouldn’t be that big for stick figures. “But what does Captain Marvel intend to do with all the stones once she gets them?”

Silence cloaks the room as Clint and Scott stare at them blankly. “We don’t know exactly what she wants to do with them?” Clint finally says shrugging at Natasha.

Natasha curses in French throwing the wine bottle at Clint head. For what its worth all Clint does is move two inches to the left to avoid the bottle and fires back in Spanish. Steve just for the hell of it curses at both of them in Gaelic. Ahh old times.

“I did not understand any of that but lets not draw the rest of the Avengers over here,” Scott says looking slightly scared and a little pale.

Clint glares at Natasha one more time before speaking. “Yeah lets because we’re the ones from the future, Stark, Banner and Thor are from this time. Its Thor I’m mostly concerned with but he’s also the one with Loki...”

“How the hell are we going to get Loki?” Steve throws out the question

“Now that’s a good question!” Clint yells out slapping the table. They were all doomed, Steve was pretty damn sure of that now.

~

Loki was back in Asgard already, with Thor.

The next step to getting to Loki was getting to Asgard.

Scott said he knew how to warp the time stone to get them there. Now it was to be decided who got to go to Asgard and who stayed and played nice with the other Avengers.

They all thought pulling straws would be the best Strategy when Steve knew it should’ve been Steve and Natasha going to space and not him and Scott. Loki was going to take one look at Scott and kick them both off of Asgard. Considering if Scott could get them there in the first place.

Steve also knew shit was going to go off the rails when Scott shook the glowing time stone that should belong to a Dr. Strange (whoever that was) and whispered, “I wish, I wish with all my heart to go to Asgard.”

The stone glowed bright green for all of two minutes before sucking him and Scott through a portal and landing them ass up into the middle of Asgardian prison.

“What are you two doing here?” A familiar voice sneers at them and Steve just hates that he looks up.

Loki sits across from them in a gilded jail cell, decorated much nicer than the rest of them Steve notices. There’s a table and bed, a couple of chairs and a bowl of fruit. A mirror hangs on the one solid wall.

Steve stands, dragging Scott up with him. “We have a message for you, from the future.”

Loki smiles his eyes twinkling with something Steve doesn’t want to name. “I’ve seen many futures Captain, you’re going to have to a bit more specific than that.”

“Ah yes, we have something for you um Mr. Loki,” Scott says digging into his suits pocket and pulling out the message from Captain Marvel. “This is for you to know which future.”

Scott presses a button and shrinks and it takes all of Steve’s enhanced sight to follow the smaller version of Scott run across the floor and slide into a crack in the foundation. He thinks he might go crossed eyed for a moment if Loki’s widening smirk is anything to go by.

Loki looks amused as he bends down and takes the envelope out of Scotts hands before promptly kicking him back into the crack and out of the cell.

 

Steve watches Loki’s face closely as he reads the note Thor wrote for him. His face twists in anguish and pain and Steve wants to believe there are tears in his eyes when Loki finally looks up at him the energy in the dungeon vibrating at a dangerous level.

“Thor is a fool if he thinks he can stop _him_ , you all are.” Loki stalks around his cell throwing the note on the bed. “Let history play out the way its supposed to if I die so be it, Thor cares far too much for me.”

Scott and Steve share a look watching the god of Mischief become riled up, the rage evident on his face. Scott clears his throat taking a few steps up to the cell. “Loki you must help us hide the tesseract and your scepter, Captain Marvel needs to get to them first. We already have the time stone.”

Loki bares his teeth, banging his fists on the wall even if the magic in it shocks him so hard it leaves his hands red and raw. “No, get out of here you can’t have three infinity stones in one place. Leave now!”

Steve squares his shoulders marching straight up to Loki and staring him dead in the eyes. “I’ve seen the future you are talking about, would you rather sit down and let those you love die when you know you had the chance to stop it?”

Loki pauses for the briefest moment before sneering at him, “Lets get one thing right Captain I do not love anyone and yes I will be sitting this one out you don’t know what you are doing stealing those stones. I will not help, go steal them yourselves. You cannot stop the mad Titan, trust me I know.”

“Cap, he’s right we do need to go it isn’t right to have so many stones together, its like a calling beacon.” Scott fidgets adjusting the wrist band he wears that contains the Time Stone.

“And leave my brother out of this, he doesn’t need to fight for humanity just yet,” Loki pauses tilting his head. “And you still need the scepter to create the Scarlet Witch and the Vision, stop messing with time.”

Steve stares at Loki trying to piece together all his cryptic messages with the memories in his head. He can’t let Loki get to him and he knows Thor will talk sense into his brother once he puts together all the pieces. “Very well but I am not about to watch the end of the world happen when I knew I could have stopped it. I have seen the same future it is painful and full of grief I do not wish to relive that future.”

 Loki bows his head, turning away from them and facing the bed where the note still lays.

Scotts already winding up the stone again whispering to it to bring them back to Natasha and Clint, Steve places his hand on Scotts shoulder willing Loki to change his mind at the last minute.

 

“The route Captain Marvel is going down can only end in death and destruction, would you trade one infinity war for another?” Loki asks point blank making Steve stop in his tracks. Steve hesitates, wondering what that future was all about. It couldn’t really be worse than the future he had lived.

“If it brings back our loved ones.”

The portal opens and sucks them both through before Steve can catch Loki’s expression but he hopes he hit a soft spot. Steve has seen the future he knows Loki’s soft spot, he can only wonder when Loki will come around and join them.

 

**Avengers Tower… 2012**

Steve and Scott tumbled through the portal ending up in a heap at edge of the table where Natasha was eating a bowl of oatmeal with fruit and Clint was downing what must have been his fourth cup of coffee and fifth bagel.

“Didn’t we just eat pizza?” Steve mumbles dragging himself upright. His center of gravity didn’t feel right and could probably be due to the time traveling.

Natasha scowls at home throwing a strawberry in his general direction. “It’s been three days Steve, me and Clint have had to pretend to be from 2012 for three days.”

Scotts shrugs at him tosses the watch and stone towards Clint. “Your turn to get us back to Wakanda dude.”

“How hard could’ve been Nat?” Steve asks stealing a few of her blueberries and popping them in his mouth.

Natasha just glares at him and turns around. Steve turns to Clint for help but he just shrugs and picks up a piece of mango. “We seem a little off to people after a while its not good to stay in one time period for too long.” He pops the mango in his mouth and grabs for the watch.

Steve watches Clint pop the stone into his own watch messing with the gears and turning the face of it once to the left and once to the right. “Okay Stone take us back to 2018. Shuri’s throne room.” Clint presses the side of the watch the stone glowing briefly before the green light fades out.

“Scott what did you do to this thing?” Clint grumbles after a few tense minutes. Steve looks between Clint and Scott, raising his brows at both men. Clint stares back blankly and takes another sip of his coffee.

“Scott?” Steve prompts while Natasha spins a knife over on her knuckles.

Scott shakes the watch and winds it up again muttering to it about taking us back to the right timeline. He hits he button and holds it out squeezing his eyes shut.

There’s a flash of bright green light and Steve closes his eyes wishing that maybe it would work this time, maybe take them to a timeline where everyone lived.

The light fades and Steve slowly opens his eyes. He’s still in the conference room with the same round table and the same leather chairs. Natasha is standing by the window with her hair still red pinching the bridge of her nose while Clint drops his head onto the table with a loud bang. Steve turns towards Scott confused.

Scott looks confused at well looking at the dimly glowing stone.

“I think we’re stuck here guys,” He looks around the room not really focusing on them.

“I don’t know how to get us back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thank you all for reading :) here's my tumblr if thats still a thing : 75-jetblckheart.tumblr.com


	4. Sulking in A Tower is What I do Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha gets to play family Avengers while waiting for Scott and Clint to figure out hoe to send them back home, Steve goes in search of one particular ghost.

Natasha wanted to shoot all of them. Yes, even Steve with his sad golden retriever expression on his face. They were stuck in fucking 2012 she didn’t know how to be that Natasha anymore, she’d seen things and done things in the years after that that didn’t fit the person she was at this time. Natasha wanted to go screaming to Fury that SHIELD was Hydra and go tell Tony that Earth didn’t need a suit of armor around it, it wouldn’t matter anyways.

She wanted to cry, she wanted to curl up next to Clint and cry about everything that had happened and be grateful that he was sitting next to her alive and well.

Natasha wouldn’t though, not until they were safe in Shuri’s throne room. Getting drunk with Clint could wait. Right now, she needed to figure out how to get an infinity stone to send them back home.

“Did you say please, Scott?”

Scott rolled his eyes at her, “Of course I said please Widow I’m not an amateur.”

Clint sighs and walks up to Steve placing a hand on his shoulder, Natasha decides to let them have their bro moment walking over to Scott already knowing that they weren’t leaving this place anytime soon.

“What’s up with the Time stone?” She asks erasing the drawing and hangman game her and Clint had been doodling waiting for Steve and Scott to pop back up.

Scott shrugs and stares at the rock as if it might give him the answers he needs. “Captain Marvel’s orders were to one keep the time stone safe by time travel and two to get everyone to the right timeline… Barnes, Loki, The guardians, Peter,” He stops and gives Natasha a sad look. “We all thought you were gone, Clint sent so many messages but no replies and then we heard Wakanda closed it borders and we thought maybe you guys were there but we couldn’t be sure.”

“I’m so sorry Scott we tried to get to you both but Shuri wasn’t… she was still learning how to be a ruler and with her brother gone,” Natasha wipes at her eyes the pain still fresh in her memory even if she was in a different time.

“When Captain Marvel asked us to join her on this mission we said yes but I think we’re just fucking up more than helping.”

Natasha hit him on the shoulder, “Don’t say that we will get the others in time.”

Scott laughs dryly looking up at the ceiling, “God I hope so.”

 

 

A few days later Natasha watches as Steve packs a duffle bag with enough clothes and supplies to last a couple of days, a thick manila folder on top of their bed. Natasha sighs settling deeper into the armchair in the corner of the bedroom with one of those thick wool blankets Pepper used to get for them all. She missed them so much more then she thought she would.

“Are you sure this is a thread you want to pull so soon?” She asks bringing the blanket closer to her.

Steve squares his shoulders turning into the old man Natasha remembers from before Thanos, Jaw set and standing pin straight, shoving his emotions somewhere Natasha wouldn’t be able to reach for a while. Captain America was back to the forefront.

“I need to, I need to get to him before Hydra can do anymore damage to him,” Steve sighs shoving a pair of socks into the duffle bag before zipping it up and slinging it over his shoulders.

“Is it such a good idea to mess with the timeline so much? We don’t know what might happen if we touch something we shouldn’t have?” Natasha presses mostly because she’s worried about Steve and partially because she doesn’t want to be left alone at the Tower even if Clint’s here.

“When have you ever cared if somethings dangerous or not Nat?” Steve crouches down next to her reaching for the shield that leans against the recliner.

“After watching half our friends die in the blink of an eye that’s when Steve,” Natasha snaps back twisting around so she wasn’t facing him. “I hope you find Bucky before its too late and we leave you here in 2012.”

“Very funny Natasha,” Steve says dryly. Natasha hears rather then sees him leave the suite going after a ghost story that she isn’t sure actually existed in the first place.

 

 

A week passes and Natasha can’t stand wondering around the tower anymore. She’s avoided Tony the best that she can but he catches her while she’s prepping a smoothie and waiting for Scott to call her with news on the Stone.

“Natasha you stuck around! Good I have some updates for new tech I added to your catsuit,” he grins at her still young looking the arc reactor in his chest glowing faintly. He babbles on about her new widow bites that would be her favorite in the coming years and the batons that could turn into a staff.

“Come to my lab we’ll try them out, Natasha, hey Natasha are you even listening,” Stark raises a hand in front of her.

Before Natasha can react, she gets dragged along by Stark and into the elevator heading down towards his labs.

She’s careful with the tech that surrounds her, reminiscing about the few times her and Clint stopped here before she went to join Steve in D.C and Clint went to his farm for a bit. They didn’t get to really be a family here at the tower but she remembers the few times they were all here together were some of the best memories she had.

“Okay so remember when you use the widow bites—”

“They have a kick to it so brace yourself,” She finishes before she realizes she has said it out loud. Shit, she turns towards Stark holding out her wrists so he could strap on the tech.

“Did I already say that? God I must be going crazy already, its only been like what?” Stark twitches cracking his neck, looking up at the ceiling, “Two weeks since the Loki invasion that’s a new record.”

Natasha gives a small smile, just like old times. She aims her wrist at one of the targets set up and braces, shooting one of the bites and hitting a bullseye. She knows the conversation that’ll come up next, how she can use them close range too like a taser and how the baton is evenly weighted giving her the advantage.

Stark surprises her like always. “So, you and Steve…are sharing a room how’s that going?”

She stuffs her new weapons into a bag and makes her way towards the lab doors. “Wouldn’t you like to know Stark, thanks for the upgrades!”

 

That night Natasha tip toed into the common room with a book and a steaming mug of tea, settled into the couch and decided to relax for once. Steve was getting close to Bucky, following him and a few of his handlers in D.C. He’d teamed up with Sam who despite not knowing what will happen in the coming years was up to save a brainwashed Bucky Barnes.

Clint and Scott were getting close to figuring out how to send them back home, using some of Starks charging decks to jumpstart the watches. She just wanted to be around something familiar again, even if it meant being sad all the damn time.

“What are you doing Tasha?” Clint walks in the room flipping on one of the lamps.

She smiles brightly at him patting the space next to her. They tangle their limbs together like they used to do and Natasha gently puts aside her books and queues up Netflix. “Hey remember when we would all play Mario kart and bet on who would win?”

Clint chooses a movie kicking off his boots, “Yeah and Thor would always surprise us by beating everyone because these games were a few hundred years old in Asgard.”

They both laugh watching the movie quietly until Jarvis’ voice cuts in, “I’d like to inform you that Stark, Hill, Pepper, Banner, and Rhodes are on their way up with takeout.”

They both freeze and Natasha tries to figure out where they could run to but it’s the common floor, all open space and rooms running into each other. She doesn’t have time to make a run for the elevators and Clint just gives her a look of despair.

The elevator doors open and the rest of the gang file in dressed in sweats or comfortable clothes, Pepper and Tony carry bags of Thai and Indian Takeout while Hill carries cases of wine and beer and finally Banner rounds up the group holding three DVDs and a Tupperware full of brownies.

“Look it’s the Window and Hawkguy! How did you beat us here?” Tony laughs setting the food down on the coffee table in front of them.

Natasha shrugs, “We’re spies, we’re supposed to be five steps ahead of you.”

Pepper smiles at them both handing out containers of food, “I like what you did with your hair Nat, blonde looks good on you.”

Natasha can feel Clint stiffen next to her and slowly shake his head. They were running out time, Scott needed to get them home. “Just trying out something new,” she whispers taking what was her usually order of Kung Pao chicken and white rice and Samosas. Hill passes her a beer and everything feels normal again except that it isn’t.

“Well as much as I would like to stay and watch Disney movies with you morons,” Clint drawls standing up and taking his order of food. “Fury just texted have to go see what Dad wants.” He waves bye to everyone and leaves without another word a feat Natasha wishes she could execute at the moment but Hill is already asking her a question and everyone’s eyes are on her and now she can’t breathe—

“Whoa there Nat,” Tony said quietly putting a hand gently on her shoulder. “Take a deep breath for me.”

She calms herself down, breathing in hard through her nose and softly out her mouth until she can focus on Tony. “Sorry,” she mutters putting away the knife she didn’t know she had dragged out.

“Is there something you should tell us about Steve?” Pepper asks popping a dumpling in her mouth. Jesus what had Hill asked her? Why were they asking questions about Steve and her?

“Where is Steve by the way?” Tony asks looking around the room as if he might pop up out of the blue.

“Fury asked him to work at SHIELD headquarters in D.C so that’s where he went, he should be back soon though,” Natasha says through gritted teeth. “And we’re not together or anything, and he’s a perfect gentleman, we just like sharing an apartment its cozy.”

They all look at her like they can read right through her lies and at this point Natasha doesn’t care, she’ll hold Scott at knifepoint to get back home now.

“So Wreck It-Ralph.”

 

 

The next day Natasha sits at the breakfast bar watching Bruce make pancakes and coffee, she tugs at her hair the blonde strands infuriating her. She picks up her phone and shoots a text to Steve asking him to bring his ass back to the tower immediately.

The rest of the team trickles in slowly as the smell of pancakes, coffee, and bacon waft through the tower.

Natasha is about to take a sip of coffee to avoid Tony’s ever persistent string of questions when there’s a shout and the elevator door opens to a wounded Steve and James Barnes.

Natasha and Clint are the first ones to make it by their side, Clint taking Barnes right side and Natasha taking Steve’s left. God he actually pulled it off, he found Bucky she thinks maneuvering the two super soldiers onto the couch.

“Jarvis run vitals on them both and call a couple of nurses up here,” Tony says making his way towards them. “Look what the super cat dragged in, Cap who is this?”

“You two idiots couldn’t wait until I made it through security?” Another voice calls and Natasha whips her head around so fast she goes cross-eyed for a few seconds.

Steve just grins at Stark madly and says, “Tony, I’d like you to meet my best-friend Bucky. Buck this is Tony Stark, Howard’s kid.” Natasha tries to not roll her eyes at Stark’s flinch instead she claps him on the back and strides towards Sam. Leave the introductions to Steve who is know talking rapidly trying to catch up the rest of the team about what’s been going on.

“Sam, you made it,” She laughs pulling the man into a hug.

“No thanks to these two idiots,” Sam smiles nodding towards her boys. “Steve’s told me a lot about you, I’m assuming your Natasha, the Black Widow? Your action figure looks a lot like you.” He steps back holding out his hand, Natasha takes it giving Clint a confused look. “Thought you were a redhead?”

He simply shakes his head, Sam doesn’t remember them yet. He probably won’t. She straightens and smiles softly, “Yes that’s me and this is the rest of the Avengers.” They go around introducing Sam to the rest of the team before finally settling across Steve and Bucky where the nurses are finishing patching them up.

Bucky looks right at her in disbelief and whisper, “Natalia, I thought you dead.”

She shakes her head. How can she explain it was him she knew _he_ was dead. “No Bucky, I’m still here.”

Steve tells them what happened on their way from D.C to New York and it chills Natasha’s spine. The Black Order was here and they were hunting the Time Stone, hunting the Avengers. Natasha doesn’t bother to answer the rest of the teams unknowing questions. They had to get out of here, with Bucky and Sam before Thanos came. She wouldn’t allow another slip up.

“Suit up,” Steve says grimly looking at everyone.

~

“We need to get back to our time,” Natasha hisses at Steve and Clint the three of them hiding in Steve’s closet. “Where the hell is Scott?”

Steve leans against the doorframe looking dejected. “What’s going on Clint I won’t allow Thanos and the Black Order to make a mess of our pasts.”

Clint pulls out the watch hitting a dial and a hologram of Scott pops up. “Scotty we need to leave within the hour hit that thing with a hammer and lets go.”

Scott frowns, “I don’t know if it’ll get us back to where we left exactly much less give Barnes and Sam their memories back.”

“It’s a risk we take then,” Steve says getting closer to the hologram. “It’s that or Thanos wipes us all out again. We need to leave meet us at Grand Central Station.”

Scott sighs twisting out view for a second and holding his own watch, the time stone glowing eerily. “Will do Captain.”

Natasha looks at the three of them and turns on her new widow bites, the space around her glowing blue faintly. She nods and Steve reaches for his shield, Clint cocking his pistol. Time to go back home.

~

 

Natasha watches Steve and Bucky talking quietly in a shadowed corner of Grand Central Station the place in shambles after Loki’s invasion. Poor Bucky and Sam were just along for the ride, trusting in Steve entirely without knowing what was happening.

They’re huddled close together whispering and Steve carefully tucks a strand of hair behind Bucky’s ear, its so adorable Natasha wants to gag. Bucky in turn grabs Steve’s waist burying his head into Steve’s shoulder and whispering something that makes the man laugh.

“They’ve been like that since Steve hit Barnes over the head,” Sam grumbles moving to stand next to her. “Always dancing around each other but never dancing together.”

Natasha snorts and nods looking around at the team. “It gets worse trust me.”

“And you would know this how?”

Natasha doesn’t get a chance to answer, there’s a crash through a window on the her left and she spins raising her gun. She can feel Sam next to her do the same, the wings from his suit unfolding.

Steve and Bucky dash from the shadows joining them just as Clint reaches the circle they’ve formed. It takes a minute for Natasha to see who’s blasted in, hoping it wasn’t one of the Black Order.

“Hey guys look who I’ve found,” Scott calls as the dust settles popping into view.  

Captain Marvel and Iron Man fly through the broken windows, Stark hits the ground hard the dull clank of his armor echoes throughout the terminals. There’s a burst of lighting and Thor fades into view looking angry.

“Why am I here Captain? I had matters on Asgard I needed to attend,” He says looking not at Steve but at Captain Marvel.

She floats down tilting her head towards Thor. There’s a rumbling deep in the earth and Natasha knows they are about to meet the Black Order all over again. “We don’t have much time, Scott take us back now. I’ll explain everything later.”

There’s another rumble and the front of the station crumbles in front of them, Thanos stepping into view. Natasha backs up hitting both Clint and Steve’s shoulders. “Scott now!” She hisses to the floor where she can just make out Scott fumbling with the watch dials.

“It seems to me that you have failed Captain,” Thanos sneers glancing down at the gauntlet where the power and space stone still sit. “Now hand over the time stone.” He looks at them straight on making a fist.

There’s a ripple in the air and more aliens come pouring in through the entrance the Black Order leading them.

Natasha snaps her batons in place getting ready for the fight about to come.

A boom in the air makes her ears pop and she can feel the electricity in the air snap. She turns around quickly to see what’s going on. At the end of the station there’s a bright green portal with Scott standing just inside it, the throne room of Wakanda’s palace just visible to Natasha.

“RUN.” Steve yells.

They all make a break for it running as fast as they can all go while fending off Thanos’ army. Natasha spins and ducks, making sure to land deadly blows whenever she can. She stays by Clint, Steve and Bucky far ahead of the rest of them.

For what’s it’s worth the rest of the team don’t ask questions, just shoot at the aliens. Stark holds off Ebony Maw shooting rockets at him while dodging magical daggers. Thor brings down his lightning on the aliens keeping a distance and the Hulk comes crashing through a minute later roaring at Midnight Proxima.

Thanos seems amused by them merely watching and not joining the fight, it unnerves her.

“Steve!”

Natasha focuses on the scene in front of her, Bucky being tackled by a rogue alien just as Steve makes in through the portal. Steve moves to jump out but Captain Marvel swoops through tackling him and shaking him roughly, dropping her head.

Natasha picks up her pace firing at the alien in front of her. She slides across to Bucky, pulling him up hastily. “Go, go now!” The alien comes down on her and Natasha misses its claws by inches bringing up her batons over her face.

Bucky shakes himself, firing a few aliens to the left of her. “You guys are more important,” He drops his pistols unslinging his rifle from his back and throwing a knife at the alien still clawing at Natasha. “Tell Stevie I’ll see him soon.”

He gives Natasha a pained look, a few tears streaking down his face. Natasha wants to tell him no to get his butt to the portal but as she looks around she notices no one else is making it. Clint and Sam fight back to back barely holding off one big ugly looking fucker and a few smaller aliens, Stark still grappling with Midnight and the Hulk is starting to be corned by Thanos.

They had to leave and leave quickly if they were all going to survive.

“Tell him I’m sorry, I wish we had more time” Bucky says softly before turning away from her. “Stark, raise hell and help clear a path for Widow and Hawkeye, get the Hulk to help too. Falcon, you and I are gunna protect that portal no matter what.”

There’s a brief pause in the fight before Stark is flying towards her shooting beams at full power behind her. Natasha doesn’t hesitate and makes a run towards the portal, she can feel rather then see Barnes keeping up, keeping her path clear.

Clint knocks into her, shooting a few arrows into the fray before grasping her hand and pulling her along faster. She can see Sam floating above the portal shooting at anything that gets a little too close.

“Close your eyes and jump!” Cling yells and Natasha does just that throwing all her weight forward and screwing her eyes shut.

When she opens her eyes again Captain Marvel is flying towards Thanos a bright ball of energy glowing brightly in her hands. “Hey look over here,” Scott says gently and she turns looking at the throne room she is now in.

When she turns back the portal is closing quickly, and Natasha can just make out Thanos and Captain Marvel falling through another portal at the bottom of the railways.

They were back home.

~

**2018**

They find the others in the common room of the palace, the news muted and the rest of the Wakanda team spread out in various recliners and positions fast asleep.

Bruce is the first to notice, carefully unwinding himself from Tony, Thor, and Valkyrie. He comes up to them and runs his hands through his hair letting out a long sigh. “Guys…” He doesn’t finish just envelopes them in a giant hug.

Thor is the next to sneak up on them, embracing them all tightly. “It has been months, Stark and I we’re about to go searching for you. Where is Loki and Barnes?”

At the mention of them Natasha can feel the mood sour, her and Steve share a long look. Steve is the one to speak up, standing up straighter and putting his hands on his belt. “Loki refused to join us, said we would be trading one war for another, and Bucky, he got—” Steve clears his throat looking at Natasha with wide eyes.

“We barely made it through the portal Scott opened, Barnes made sure we all got through.”

Thor nods summoning his ax. “I have to go talk sense into my brother, he can bring Barnes back to this time.”

Natasha and Steve move at the same time placing their hands on Thor’s. “Don’t,” Natasha begins, “Thanos ambushed us, Captain Marvel was barely containing him. To go back to 2012 is dangerous.”

“We shall feast then for your safe return.”

~

It was late at night when a knock woke Natasha up. She quietly snuck out of bed, Steve and Bruce wrapped up tightly together, carefully stepped over Clint sleeping on the floor and opened the door.

“Tony?” She whispers, widening the door.

He’s been crying, she notices, eyes red and puffy. He keeps gripping his wrist and won’t focus on her for long. “Tony? What’s wrong?” She says a little louder scooting the man towards the huge fluffy bean bags Shuri had gotten everyone months ago. They sink into it and Natasha carefully pulls the genius towards her.

“Stark what is wrong?” she says firmly giving him a shake. She knew how to work through these nightmares.

Stark finally focuses on her. “I saw him die. He turned into dust right in front of me and he even apologized. I loved him like a son Tasha, it should’ve been me!”

She pulls him closer to her making sure his head was nestled between hers. “Shh, we can’t blame ourselves Tony. None of this is our fault. Its Thanos’ fault, nobody else.”

She rocks him gently letting him cry out. She looks at the rest of her team all of them sharing a room. Steve and Bruce snoring loudly and Clint shifting on the pillow mattress he made himself. Will they ever feel safe to sleep alone again?

Stark cries and cries until eventually his sobs temper out into snores and clock on the wall says its almost sunrise in Wakanda. Natasha can feel sleep creeping she knows Steve will wake her in two hours so they can go jogging in the jungle, to keep up the appearance of normalcy.

She closes her eyes and lets sleep overtake her.

 

 

The sun hits Natasha’s face a little too brightly, and there’s a stiff hot breeze coming through the window.

“Tasha wake up, Dad wants us in New Mexico at the end of the day.”

“For fucking what Clint?” She mutters stirring. New Mexico?

She bolts out of the bead uncaring whether she had clothes on or not, races out of the bedroom and throws open the front door. This isn’t Wakanda, she thinks, staring out to the bustling desert city of Odessa. This isn’t Wakanda.

“What’s a Wakanda and is it edible?” Clint says draping a sheet over her mostly naked body. “Come on if we’re going to beat Fury to New Mexico we need to get on the jet now.

She turns, gripping the sheet tighter to her. Why was she here? She knew this mission, Stark didn’t have any of the stones. “What’s in New Mexico?” She finds herself saying, repeating words she has already said years ago.

Clint gives her a bland stare turning on his heel and walking towards a staircase. “Apparently a hot as fuck alien dropped out of a sky, Fury wants us to make friends with it.”

She inhales, running after Clint.

 

_Thor._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this is going up a couple days late, life happened and this chapter was tough to edit??? For some reason??? I still don't really like some kinks in it lol anyways enjoy! Thank you, comments and kudos feed my soul.


	5. Space Aliens are not my Forte

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Natasha deals with Thor and Steve and Tony deal with the Guardians.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I update at last!! after being sidetracked by work and personal drama lol

In a bathroom in a dusty hotel room in New Mexico Natasha looks at the shot wound currently healing on her side, a big ugly scar that she knows will ruin her fashion choices for the rest of her upcoming life. She turns on the water scrubbing her face and arms with soap. Jesus what was she even doing here?

She turns off the water looking at her reflection a single blonde streak in her hair. What was going on?

 

 

“Clint what are we really doing here?” She asks sitting down next to him in the shifty looking hotel they were staying at until Fury arrived with SHIELD backup.

“Already told you, Fury wanted us here to investigate that dude that fell from space but someone checked him out of the hospital,” Clint replies checking out his arrows.

Natasha bangs her fist on the table, done with the games and the being thrown in different timelines. “Damnit Clint no more games what are _we_ doing here?”

Clint points an arrow at her, “Are you okay? You didn’t hit your head when we boarded the jet did you?”

Natasha shakes her head grabbing one of the guns on the table. “I’m going to go investigate.”

 

 

In town Natasha ducks into the only diner in town, sitting on the bar top and casually trying to drink coffee. What was she even supposed to do here? Stop Thor from coming to earth? Too late for that.

The door chimes open and Natasha tilts the napkin dispenser watching as Thor and Jane stride into the diner, Darcy holding up her phone right under Thor’s face. So, this is how it really went down she thinks trying to hold in a laugh as Thor throws down his mug the noise of the shattering porcelain drawing everyone’s attention except hers. She never met Jane long enough to get the story out of her, only heard it from Clint.

Natasha stays a few more minutes before quietly exiting the diner through the backdoor and into the alley way. She pulls out the burner phone she swiped from Clint’s bag and thumbs through the contacts. Ugh pre-StarkPhones and Wakanda tech make Natasha wish she was back in the future.

“Agent Barton, miss me?” Fury’s voice comes over the phone a hint of a laugh in his tone.

Natasha smiles, “Maybe I do.”

“Romanoff—” Fury begins.

“Send me to Malibu,” She butts in, scanning the back alley. “Somethings going on over there.”

“With Stark? Yeah I know I have Carter’s niece about to go in deep cover,” Fury answers. “Why do you want to go to Malibu?”

Natasha begins pacing, gritting her teeth. “I need to get to Malibu, Fury, do me this favor.”

Fury sighs the sound crackling over the line. “Give me three days, deep cover. Stark Industries, Coulson will join. This is the last favor you ask for Agent Romanoff.”

Natasha smiles widely, “Thanks Fury.” She flips the phone a small gratification she couldn’t get with a slim StarkPhone.  She stuffs the phone into her jacket pocket and run her hands through her hair, thinking about what would be the best thing to do. She didn’t even know if Tony was from the future or not.

“We’re going to Malibu? I always wanted to meet Stark and Pepper!”

Natasha reacts without thinking kicking her leg out with as much force as she can and dropping the man that dared to sneak up on her. She pulls out a knife and lunges holding the blade to the guys neck.

“Scott?”

~

~

~

 

Steve stormed into the throne room, the doors banging against the walls, Tony on his right. “Where’s Natasha?”

Captain Marvel, Thor, Clint, and Nebula looked up at him from where they were sitting pouring over holographic and paper maps. Clint shares a long look with Captain Marvel who stands and glides towards Steve. He doesn’t know how she does it walking a few centimeters off the floor but it makes her look godly and unreal, Steve doesn’t know how to feel about it.

She stands in front of Steve putting her hands on her hips and smiles. “She’s with Scott.”

Steve straightens. “What year Captain?”

Captain Marvel turns away from him waving him and Tony over to the table and points to a picture. Steve looks down its Clint and Natasha in Odessa clinking beers. “I sent them a month before the invasion of New York, to keep Loki and Thor in Asgard and not earth.”

“So 2012 then,” Stark butts in. “Tell me again how all of this is going to prevent Thanos from killing us all.”

“Let me worry about it, we can’t have the stones on earth.” Captain Marvel picks up the other watch and straps it on winding it until the room around them glows green. “We’re going to space.”

Before Steve has a chance to protest she hits the side of the watch and the scene around him fades out of view, darkness engulfing him. He reaches grabbing a hold of something and pulls.

~

~

~

New Mexico

Natasha sits with Scott at the edge of the crater watching as SHIELD Agents roped off Thor’s hammer and began setting up tents and mobile homes. Seems like they were planning on being here for a while.

Scott offers his bag of fruit snacks, squinting against the setting sun. “So we’re going to Malibu tomorrow and there’s been no sign of Thor.”

Natasha shrugs and take a couple of fruit gummies popping them into her mouth. How would she convince Thor to send the tesseract somewhere else, out of Loki’s reach? How was she going to convince him to make amends with Loki, to try and stop the invasion of New York? The questions burned in her mind, Captain Marvel sent her to do this she wouldn’t be letting her down.

“Has to be somewhere.”

 

 

The sun had set and its well into the night that Natasha comes back with a duffle bag filled with blankets, food and extra clothes. She tosses Scott a sandwich and a bag of chips while she digs in to a thermos filled with chicken soup.

The tents have been set up and there’s a loose perimeter of chain-link fencing around the crater, Agents circling around them every five minutes like clockwork. One of the guards waves at her and Natasha tosses him a protein bar.

He wanders over sitting besides her and introducing himself to Scott. “He allowed to be here Romanoff?”

“Yep, vetted him a few days ago. Picked by Barton,” She takes another spoonful of soup in her mouth and points roughly to where the hammer should be. “So whats going on with that? Anyone seen the alien yet?”

The guard exhales shaking his head. “Nothing yet, thought Barton would’ve kept you informed.”

Natasha lets out a humorless laugh, “Barton doesn’t know that I’m here, I’m about to go deep cover in the west coast.” The guard nods and stands shaking Scott’s hand again and giving Natasha a salute.

Natasha waves back and stretches her feet out, her worn out combat boots glinting dully in the moonlight. There’s a brief moment where she wishes it could stay like this. That she could stay in New Mexico with Clint and not have to worry about infinity stones and gods and mad Titans, not having to worry about the world ending all over again.

“Natasha, there he is!” Scott whisper yells pointing a few feet ahead of them.

Natasha focuses on where Scott is pointing just making out a stumbling figure a few feet ahead of them. She grabs a knife and her garotte and makes a run for it, leaving Scott behind her in the dust.

“Thor!” She calls out, running towards the stumbling man. She had to get to him before he stepped into the lights, it would be kind of tricky to convince the other agents to give her time alone with him.

She makes a quick decision, throwing her weight forward and lunging at him.

She manages to get him by the knees and they both go sprawling into the dirt, Natasha’s face getting smushed by Thor’s side. She shakes herself, lifting off him. His face was in the dirt, blonde hair splayed.

Natasha takes her garotte out and scoots next to him. “You don’t know me now but you will, I have an important message for you.”

Thor groans and digs his face further into the sand. “Allfather why must you torment me like this.”

“Come on they will arrest us if they see us.”

Thor grumbles again and turns away from her. Natasha looks up at the sky wishing she had a way to call Scott. Instead she thumps Thor on the chest and stands grabbing a foot and pulling at Thor with all her might.

“Here let me help,” Scott appears next to her for a second before shrinking back down and grabbing the other foot. Together they pull Thor across the sand Natasha cursing in Russian the whole way to their makeshift campsite.

“God he is heavy even if he is mortal now.”

Thor sits up frowning at both of them, sand covering his face and a few twigs stuck in his beard, Natasha chokes down her laugh and focuses on packing up their things. The agents sweeping the area were bound to notice Thor at some point.

“You dare insult the Son of Odin?” Thor sneers leaning closer to Natasha. Natasha gives him a blank stare.

“Yes.”

Thor narrows his eyes at her but otherwise doesn’t say anything. Natasha motions for Scott and Thor to follow her walking back into the darkness. They had a lot to catch up on before Fury picked her up and took her to Malibu.

She much rather liked the Thor she came to know after he learned some pop culture and him and Steve became friends.

~

~

Steve recognized the Marvin Gaye song softly playing on the boom box. The spaceship he was currently in not so much. The guy with the midwestern accent claiming he was part immortal and that infinity stones could suck his dick were a little more familiar if not crazy. It reminded him of Tony a little bit.

“Your math doesn’t make sense Quill! And why are that tree and raccoon talking... Ow!”

Steve sits up wincing at the pain in his head. “Tony?”

Seven people turn their heads towards him, crowding in front of Steve until he feels like he can’t breathe. Where were they? It looked like they were inside a very high-tech garbage can… was that Rocket hitting Tony with a part of Groots arm? 

“Guys give him space,” Stark elbows his way to the forefront, roughly pushing the big purple and grey dude. “He can’t breathe, Quill, damnit.” Tony crouches in front of him, carefully placing an arm on his shoulder.

Stark sighs finding whatever he needed to see on Steve’s face and rubs his shoulder roughly. He looks over at the others on the ship and gives Steve a small smile,

“You just had to drag me back to space with these idiots, didn’t you?”

 

 

 

After introductions had been made (by Tony) and Steve finally got to know the rest of the so-called Guardians of the Galaxy Tony and Nebula had been talking about after they had arrived back in Wakanda, Gamora had sat them all down pouring what Steve wanted to imagine as tea and took out a knife. She played with it carefully, twirling it over her wrists and between her fingers and Steve got the impression murder and terror were her life. Until she smiled brightly and used her knife to cut space fruit.

“So you want us to give you the power stone, based on the slightest chance that Thanos might invade Earth?” Gamora says after the rest of the crew finishes eating. Quill looks at her with wide eyes, patting his jacket pocket and letting out a deep sigh. Steve had the assumption he had been keeping the stone there  

Stark rolled his eyes at Steve, waving his hands around before speaking. “Listen to us, its not a slight chance it’s the truth in a few years that idiot Titan will wipe out half the universe. You guys will fight by my side and then the world will end.”

The Guardians all share a look of unease together before Drax bursts out laughing making the rest of them laugh uncontrollably. Tony and Steve stare at the ceiling and Steve decides space was not a place he wanted to be currently. Or ever.

 

“You should listen to Stark,” Captain Marvel’s voice come through a moment before she appears, the time stone glowing brightly in the watch. “Everything he says is true.” She flicks her wrists and green light fills the spaceship, scenes from the future playing out.

The guardians take it in their faces falling with each scene that passes over them. Gamora drops her head when Quill pulls the trigger on her and the man himself continues watching until Thanos drops Gamora over a cliff.

“Enough.” Gamora says quietly and Captain Marvel cuts the scenes.

“I also come bearing a gift,” She opens a portal and a man steps through looking like he aged a hundred years.

“Strange!” Tony remarks, running up to the man and gripping his forearms. He looks at the man happily for about five seconds before shaking him roughly. “Strange!” he growls. “I told you to keep the stone safe and let me die.”

Strange gives Tony a wry smile, clasping his arms. “It was something I couldn’t let happen Stark, Captain America, a pleasure to meet you.” Strange hold out his hand and Steve takes it trying to read the look written on Starks face.

Steve has a million questions on the tip of his tongue but he can’t seem to ask Tony any of them. He isn’t sure he wants to know what happened when Tony and Spiderman went up into space. The look on Tony’s face asks, no begs, him not to ask any of those questions either.

Steve watches as Captain Marvel strides over to the front of the ship punching in coordinates on the front panel. Dr. Strange talks quietly with Gamora off to one side showing her how the time stone fits in his pendant and the special watch that will be used to house the power stone.

“Steve,” Tony whispers and Steve turns crowding near his teammate.

“I will fix this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit : there was a slight continuatity error ( thanks for pointing that out!) but now it is fixed and I hope it reads better :)


	6. Space Aliens are not My Forte Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the power stone and tesseract withing their reach can Natasha and Steve make it home with them?

Natasha drove them to the edge of the town trying to figure out how to phrase it to Thor that he needed to get back to Asgard as soon as he could and send the Tesseract as far away as possible. Without pissing him off into an angry God of Thunder. She wished she had Clint or Steve with her on this one, not just Scott.

Scott was trying to get Thor to eat Jalapeno flavored Pringles while asking him about Norse mythology. Maybe this is why Fury didn’t assign her to this assignment the first time around and assigned Clint instead.

“What are we doing Lady? I must go back and receive my hammer.”  Thor interrupts her daydreams and musings. She pulls off the side of the road braking hard and turning off the engine.

She twists around in her seat staring at Thor directly. Honesty was the best policy after all, at least that’s what she has heard. “Your brother Loki is going to become one of Thanos’ puppets if you don’t return home and make peace with him within the next, say, forty-eight hours. He’s going to invade earth and that is going to create a trickle in the universe until eventually Thanos collects all six infinity stones and wipes out half the known universe.”

Thor stares at her seriously the crease between his brow becoming deeper. He glances at Scott and laughs. “That is madness, did Loki set you all up to this? Loki, I know you can hear me lift whatever spell you casted on these poor mortals.”

Natasha throws a box of pop-tarts at him hitting him in the chest. “WE are not under Loki’s magic, I tell you the truth and unless you want your brother to live past the next six years you better listen to me.”

Thor becomes more serious as Natasha explains what needs to happen in the next couple of days writing it down for him on a sheet of paper and leaving her phone number on there as well. She hopes it gets through to Thor how serious a situation she was in, they were all in. Those stones had to be destroyed.

When Thor finally speaks he sounds much wiser than he had sounded a few minutes ago. “What you speak of is dangerous, and you play with Death Lady. The Tesseract is safely locked up in Asgards vault I know not where the rest are they are scattered throughout space. Even if Thanos got to ours it would take many millennia for him to gather the rest.”

Natasha sighs handing over the paper. “You have to believe us, believe me for the sake of your brother and Asgard’s future.”

Thor looks at the paper, “Loki does not forgive easily but I will try to make him see reason, we are brothers after all.”

They sit in silence watching the stars from the truck. Natasha bows her head lost in her thoughts about the future.

Its only when Thor opens the back seat and begins taking out the bags Natasha had packed for the trip to Malibu that she snaps out of it moving to Thor’s side. “Tell me more stories about this future Avengers Lady Natasha, tell me more.”

Natasha nods her head and settles into a chair and looks up at the stars, “We didn’t start out as the best of friends but we became a family…”

 

 

In the morning Thor is long gone leaving Natasha and Scott by themselves and a dying fire.

“How does he do that?” Scott yawns opening up a poptart.

“Magic,” Natasha shrugs piling the bags back into the truck. She sends a message to fury and throws the burner phone at a rock watching it shatter into pieces. She could buy a new one later. Looks like their trip to Malibu would be on hold for a day.

 

Back at the crater there’s a buzz of excitement agents running around clutching weapons and briefcases. There’s reporter on the scene trying to get photos of the now torn down tents. Scott sits at her shoulder talking nonsense into her ear.

When she finally does find Clint he’s talking to Coulson pointing his bow in the direction of where the hammer should be. Its not there like she has suspected instead runes lay where the hammer should’ve been, the ground still smoking.

Loki must have been in a forgiving mood then to bring Thor back to Asgard so quickly.

“Agent Romanoff,” Coulson begins when he sees her flashing a bright smile. “I thought you’d be on your way to handle the Iron Man situation I was about to join when Barton lost our alien.”

Clint glares at Coulson pointing his bow again to the smoldering runes on the ground. “Like I said I went in for the shot and that rainbow sucked him up and he was gone!”

Natasha smiles and listens to the two highest agents in Shield bicker like children until Couslson’s cell rings. He answers quickly, nodding and replying with, “Yeah got it. We’ll be on our way Colonel.”

Natasha rolls her eyes knowing where this was heading. “Lemme guess, Stark is dying and he scared off Agent 13?” Coulson and Clint laugh.

“Tasha are you like a telepath or something?”

Natasha wishes she could tell them the truth that she already lived through this but they’d only laugh at her harder. To Malibu it was then.

~

~

The moment they landed in Xander Steve could feel the energy in the ship shoot through the roof with Quill and Gamora standing straighter and sharing a look. Tony inched closer to Steve gazing out to the new planet with awe. It was like the future Steve and Bucky would talk about when they were kids, with soaring, shiny buildings and flying cars.

There were aliens that looked like the creatures out of the sci-fi novels Bucky would read and some that looked just him and Tony, the only difference were the clothes they wore and gadgets and weapons they carried on their persons.

Captain Marvel moved next to them transferring the Time Stone over Dr. Strange, which Steve learned was his actual name and he held actual PhDs. “Remember the moment the Nova Corps hand over the Power Stone we need to leave, Thanos is trailing closer and closer each time we time jump.”

She gives them all a tight grin hitting the latch to open up the back of the ship. Strange walks up besides her and twists his hands, golden streaks racing across air in front of him. It forms a circle showing Thanos invading Xander, the Nova Corps falling under his troops.

“We don’t have much time, the events happening here will happen in real time in one hour.” Strange sets a timer the numbers floating in the air counting down instantly. “If any of you don’t make it back in time, we leave without you.”

Steve reaches for his shield, slinging it on his back with a heavy thud. He watches Tony slide on a pair of sunglasses the Iron Man amour encasing him with fluid motions snaking around him and pouring over him like liquid metal.  

“Then don’t be late.”

 

 

Captain Marvel strides ahead of them as they make their way into the Nova Corps Headquarters, Gamora on her heels and the rest of them following close behind. Steve keeps a careful eye on the them and their surroundings trying to keep calm.

“Carol! What a lovely surprise.”

“Carol, her name is Carol?” Tony whispers to Steve. He has to laugh, clasping Tony on his shoulder.

“You’ve been in space and met all these…” Steve can’t find the words to describe the people he was with, the thoughts whirring in his head. “fascinating people but you didn’t think Captain Marvel had a name?”

Stark pokes him laughing loudly, causing Drax to hush them loudly. “The lady is speaking, have some respect.”

“When have you ever had respect Drax?” Rocket question hitting him in the thigh. Drax swats at him hitting Groot instead. Steve holds Tony back a step watching the Guardians bicker amongst themselves.

“Are they always like this?” He asks Tony watching warily as Quill turns around to scold all of them only to get slapped by Groot. Steve can see Gamora fingering her swords still talking brightly with Nova Prime and Carol.

“It was worse the first time around, there were two more,” Stark rolls his eyes as the four guys begin swinging punches at one another.

Gamora spins around unsheathing her knife with one hand and grabbing at Quills jacket collar with the other. “Shut up! Enough, you’re wasting time.” She points the blade at Drax, the tip gently pushing against his throat. “Enough.”

Steve knows how to keep his mouth shut and also knows _when_ to keep his mouth shut. He snaps to attention next to Tony and they both push through the Guardians, moving to stand next to their Captain.

Nova Prime smiles tightly waving them onward. “The stone is hidden underground with the best security system in this system.” She chuckles at her own joke, Tony sending Steve a look of pity and Steve wonders if it was really a good idea to drag Tony up to space.

Tony moves ahead of him, keeping up with Carol and Gamora. Steve takes a deep breath hoping their plan would work without a hitch just for once.

~

~

~

It was when Natasha was pouring Stark whiskey and covering up a bruise on his face did she remember that this minor step in her life as a shield agent was actually pretty boring and a bit uncomfortable.

The dresses were pretty and designer but itchy and too tight around her waist and she couldn’t hide her guns and knives as easily as she wanted to but she needed to keep her cover and making sure this Tony Stark didn’t die on her watch was one of them. Was he always this pretentious? She looks up at the ceiling and mouths to herself, my god he really has changed.

She slams a stack of papers on his desk, pulling out a small knife and holding it up to his face. “Okay Tony, enough games how do we get back to Wakanda?”

Stark raises his hands up looking amused and scared. Natasha wants to believe she’s not alone with Scott but its starting to look like it. “Isn’t Wakanda like a small farming country? By the way I’m guessing you’re not actually a secretary?”

Natasha slumps onto the desk, rubbing her temples she was getting nowhere. Scott didn’t even know how to get them back without the stone and Thor had already booked it to Asgard. Her only hope was that Captain Marvel would remember that she dumped her and Scott here.

The desk phone begins ringing, shrill enough to hurt Natasha’s ears. “Okay I guess I’ll answer it.” Stark mumbles picking up the phone.

Natasha listens to him grumble on the phone for about two minutes until he nudges her and gives her the phone. “Your dad is asking for you?”

She grabs the phone out of his hands waving him away, “Fury?”

“This is my office!” Stark exclaims, standing.

She gives him one of her best glares waving him away again. Stark sighs pinching the bridge of nose but begins walking away. “This is what happens when I don’t listen to Pepper.” The door closes quietly and Natasha brings the phone back up to her ear.

“Listen I don’t know what the hell you did but Thor’s back and he brought his brother. Says he wants to chat.”

Natasha stabs her knife into the wooden desk. “I’m on my way.”

A few hours later and handing over Howard Starks stuff to Tony so he can figure out how to not kill himself she speeds off, leaving Coulson to handle Iron Man and the drama that would follow the Stark Expo.

 

 

Back in New Mexico Natasha squints into the sun two looming figure making their way towards her. Fury stands on her left and Scott is well, last time she saw him he was on her shoulder jumping up and down excited to see Thor again.

“Lady Natasha!” Thor calls coming into view Loki beside him looking much younger than she remembered him, more like a boy who still looked up to his older brother. Not like the mind-controlled murderer she knew him as.

Loki stands stiffly tilting his head towards her. “Widow, so nice to meet you.”

Natasha straightens watching him closely. Thor would always be right, never trust him. “Loki, Thor what brings you back to earth?”

Loki opens his palm the Tesseract gleaming in the afternoon light. “We are here to offer a peace offering; The Tesseract can stay on earth under SHIELDS protection, if I may also seek asylum here on earth.”

“And why should we grant you asylum, what Romanoff as told me you end up killing one of my best agents and turning New York City to shreds.” Fury interjects crossing his arms over his chest. Wait… Natasha looks at Fury confused, she hadn’t told him any of that.

Loki flinches looking at Thor for help, “I was not in control of my own mind in that timeline, here and now I have a chance to alter it and fix it. I assure you I would cause no harm.” He lets go off the Tesseract the cube floating towards Fury.

Natasha glances between the four of them, it couldn’t be this easy could it? What would that mean for the Avengers? Natasha doesn’t get to voice her questions instead she feels Scott jump off her shoulder stretching out to his normal size.

“Somethings wrong, we need to leave,” Scott grips her arms looking between Loki and her. “He’s here.”

The cube immediately snaps back to Loki the stone disappearing from sight. Natasha catches his eye nodding once. “Leave now, hide the cube.”

Loki rushes towards them, tackling both down on the sand. Natasha feels herself sink and she holds on to Scott and Loki tighter scared of what might be in front of her if she opened her eyes. “I will help as much as I can, thank you.” Loki whispers before letting go and pushing them away from him.

 

“How long do you think you can keep running from me?” Thanos’ voice booms as darkness creeps into Natasha’s line of sight. “You will run out of time.”

~

~

~

Steve didn’t know how long they had been in the vault listening to Quill and Rocket argue about who should carry the stone and where they should hide the power stone he only knows it was long enough for Gamora to go do reconnaissance above ground and have Captain Marvel go check in on Natasha and Scott.

Tony looked like he was about ready to step in and say he’ll be the one to carry it and Steve was about ready to yell at both of them when Captain Marvel tumbled through the wall covered in sand her face scraped up. “Listen I didn’t mean to—"

“He’s here!” Gamora screams running into the vault just as Nova Prime opens the last safeguard that protects the stone. Steve turns on his heels looking up at the shaking ceiling. Captain Marvel brought Thanos to them too early.

Carol grabs the orb stuffing it into Quill’s jacket pocket before taking off in a streak of light. “Tony lets go!” Steve says running after Gamora.

He stops short when he doesn’t hear the whir of the Iron Man suit. He turns around his friend frozen in place the face plate raised just enough that Steve cans see the scared expression etched into his features.

“Tony.”

Tony backs away raising his hands up meekly. Steve’s heart breaks at how scared and broken his teammate looks. “I can’t Steve, leave me here. I can’t face him again.”

Steve walks up to him cautiously raising his own hands. “Stark you don’t have to face him alone, I’m right here.”

“But you weren’t! Not when it mattered,” Tony whispers backing up a few more steps. “When I needed you where were you? Not on a fucking space doughnut with me and the kid – god Peter,” A few tears slip down Tony’s cheeks and Steve can feel the weight of what the Civil War actually cost them settle on his shoulders.

“But I’m here now and I’m not leaving, but if we don’t get on that spaceship in the next five minutes Strange and Captain Marvel will leave us here.”

The faceplate slams down over Tony’s face and Steve can longer see the pain in Tony’s eyes. His friend must find strength somewhere because he grabs Steve by the waist and launches forward, flying towards the action.

 

 

Steve doesn’t see when Gamora trips, stumbling to avoid a blast from one of Thanos’ soldiers. He hears her rather than see her tell Quill to keep moving to leave her alone. He spins around sending his shield flying as he runs over to her and Quill and helps them up.

They sprint as fast as they can, jumping into the ship just as Carol begins lifting it off the ground. Dr. Strange sends blasts of magic throwing off a few aliens that had been clinging to the door.

“Wait shit,” Quill yells patting down his pockets. “I dropped the stone!”

Carol marches to him grabbing him by his jacket roughly. “You had one job! Where is it?”

“I see it.” Tony whispers pointing to the middle of fray, a gleam of silver catching the light. Before Steve and Carol can get to him he dives off the ship hurdling straight down to where a faint purple glow is attracting the alien soldiers, Thanos walking over to it in the distance.

“Stark,” The titan growls sending a shiver down Steve’s back. He feels helpless knowing he’ll only make it worse if he jumped down to back up Tony. Steve has to watch as Tony sends rocket blasters towards Thanos, taking hits from his soldiers. He hears Carol demand that Strange send them back home just as he sees Tony flying back up as fast as his blasters would allow him.  

 

The world explodes into purple light, sending the ship offline and down to the ground. Steve screws his eyes shut, trying to make out what Strange and Carol were arguing over.

There’s a pop in the air and Steve falls onto his back the air getting knocked out of him. He couldn’t breathe couldn’t see anything around him. 

A dull violet light appears and Steve can just make out the Iron Man mask in the distance.

~

~

~

When Steve opens his eyes again the first thing he notices is Tony lying in the middle of Wakanda’s throne room motionless. The next he sees is Natasha and Scott on all fours breathing hard, their hands blue.

Dr. Strange is sprawled on the throne panting hard sparks of magic coming off his badly shaking hands. “What happened? Where’s Captain Marvel?”

“I’m right here,” she calls coming out of a one of the hallways and crouching over Stark. Steve rushes towards her carefully turning Tony over onto his back. He reaches for his wrists pressing his fingers down gently, hoping.

“He’s not breathing,” Steve whispers taking in the sight of Tony, his veins and lips tinted purple.

As Natasha makes her way over Stark convulses gasping for air. His eyes fly open the irises a violent shade of purple. He sits up reaching for Steve, “Did we make back?”

Steve nods, looking around the throne room. They were all back relatively safe and sound, Natasha and Scott’s hands turning back to their normal colors.

“Tony, what are you holding in your hand?”

Tony looks down carefully opening in hands, violet light pouring over them all.

Steve’s breath hitches. In Tony’s hand was the Power Stone in all its raw glory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again thank you to everyone who has been reading this :)


	7. Staying In is Better Than Going Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief intermission from space/time travel.

Natasha stayed with Tony while Shuri monitored him in her labs, the best of Wakanda’s doctors taking scans and tests while both geniuses talked to each other about the power stone.

She still couldn’t believe that they had it, after so much loss finally a small gain. The power stone was theirs and secured in Shuri’s lab by a box of vibranium and steel and yet Natasha wanted to see the stone again to hold like Stark did, to feel all that power course through her. She would’ve used it on Thanos, get it all over with.

“Nat?” Stark called softly breaking her out of her trance.

“Natasha, please step away from the stone,” Shuri said more firmly peering over her tablets at her.

Natasha took three violent steps backwards making herself walk towards where Tony lay, propped up by pillows. She hadn’t even been aware she had floated over to the stone, inches away from the case.

Tony’s irises were still purple, his veins pulsing purple every so often. He looked okay though, no serious injuries or broken bones but Shuri wanted to make sure the stone hadn’t done anything internally. She thinks about the moment between her asking what Tony was holding in his hand and the moment Steve knocked the stone out of his hand the way his entire body had started going purple, his fingers black at the tips. They had come too close to losing him this time.

“It’s strong isn’t it?” Stark says glancing over at the stone, his eyes flashing purple briefly. “I knew I wouldn’t make it when I picked it up but somehow it protected me, kept me alive.”

Shuri snorts tapping the arc reactor in his chest, “I think it has to do something more with this than preference Stark.” She busies herself with showing the scans to the other doctors, giving out orders to move Stark to a more private room.

Tony shrugs turning back to stare at the space above Natasha. “Whatever it was, the stone was sentient enough to save me and not kill me.”

~

 

It was in the common room that Steve found Dr. Strange talking to Nebula and Thor, the group passing around one of the bottles of vodka Natasha’s contacts sent from Russia from time to time. “Mind if I join?”

Dr. Strange gives a tight smile, Thor patting the space next to him. “Not at all Captain, Thor and Nebula were just catching me up on recent events.”

Steve sat, pouring himself a glass of vodka as well. “Please call me Steve.”

Dr. Strange nodded raising a glass, “Then you must call me Stephan, I just like to piss off Stark.”

Steve gave a small smile shaking his head. It looks like Tony had finally met someone with a bigger ego. He looked around the room taking in the scene, remembering a different time. He wished Bucky was here to meet these new friends and comrades of his. Soon he thought, even if he had to solo the mission himself he was going and getting Bucky back.

Eventually Carol and Rocket join them laying down bowls of stew on the table and a loaf of dark bread. “Eat up all of you it does our loved ones no good sitting around drunk,” Carol says taking a seat next to Steve. Rocket pours himself a drink and raises it the rest of them followed suit clinking their glasses together. They all toasted to their own loved ones, whoever it might be on their minds.

They were finishing up when Carol cleared her throat throwing up a map showing where the rests of the stones lay across the galaxy. Steve watched as she moved it around zooming in on the tesseract and soul stone.

“We’ve used the stone too many times,” Carol says not looking at them.

“What does that mean exactly?” Steve speaks up watching the mind stone float aimlessly from Asgard to Earth and back. The map was fluid the stones wondering around to whatever timeline Carol was concentrating on at the moment.

Strange looks at him unlocking the time stone and letting float in the air. “It means that the time stone is almost used up, it’s starting to mess with the timelines if we continue to use it the universe could collapse on us.”

The time stone floats back into its cage snapping shut with a green snap of light. “We need to focus our attention on the soul stone and the space stone, for obvious reasons.”

Steve stands picking up the bowls and plates letting the chatter fade away has he walks towards the kitchens walking down the dim hallways. He stops short at a dent in the wall just outside the formal dining room, Steve runs his hands over it digging his fingers into the marks that Bucky’s metal hand had left in what seems like another life time ago but was just over a year ago.

A few tears slip past his eyelashes, the bowls clattering to the floor. Steve bows his head digging his fingers deeper into the cool stone making the imprint wider. The tears come more freely than they have in a while, he’d been so caught time jumping and trying to save the universe again he had almost felt normal for a moment.

The moment is fleeting now as he remembers that last night.

Steve jumps when he feels a soft hand on his shoulder, turning around quickly. Tony puts his hands up in the air just as quick taking one measured step back. It’s the first time he’s seen him since he had carried him to the medical ward yelling for Shuri.

“It’s like there’s this big gaping hole in the middle of your chest right, like they should be next to you but they aren’t,” Tony says carefully taking a step forward again.

Steve wipes his eyes, nodding. He kept expecting Bucky to be there each time he walked into his room or when they were going over battle plans but he wasn’t. “Like they’re here but they’re not. How are you doing by the way Tony?” He throws that in, trying to change the subject.

Tony snorts, stepping more into the light. The Arc reactor in his chest glows violet faintly, the veins around his eyes the same hue. “Alive I guess, Shuri, what a genius that girl is by the way, but she says that if I had held the stone any longer that I would literally be a pile of ash.” He sighs running a hand through his hair before clapping Steve on the shoulder. “How are you doing Cap?”

They both reach for the bowls at the same time, Tony crushing the one in his hand almost as soon as he picks it up. He grimaces but still glances up at Steve, raising a brow. Steve gives a small smile. “Alive I guess.”

Tony gives him a disappointed glare and turns around. “I tried Steve I really did.” He starts walking away taking long strides away from him.

Steve takes about five seconds to mentally kick himself in the ass before catching up to Tony and rounding on him. “I’m sorry Tony, I really am sorry believe me.” He places his hands on Tony’s shoulders looking him in the eye. “I’m sorry about leaving you in Siberia and the Accords, I’m so sorry you lost… Peter? I’m sorry that you got stuck in space, I’m sorry for it all.” He draws the man into a hug, holding on tight hoping maybe things would smooth over.

Tony gives him a shaky smile, gently pushing Steve’s hands away. “I’m sorry you lost Bucky, Steve, really. I… it doesn’t change a damn thing but I think I can look at you without wanting to punch you again.” He gives Steve one last look, his eyes flashing violet for a brief second before he walks away blending into the darkness.

It was a start on the road to making things right again and it was a start Steve would take.

~

In the week since they had been back Natasha had been cold, extremely cold to the point where she wrapped herself up in another blanket and sat herself next to Clint digging her toes into his side.

“Can’t get warm?” He grunts taking her feet and rubbing them between his hands.

“And I thought Siberia was cold,” she mutters staring at the TV in front of them displaying the news. Another country collapsing, more riots happening it was only a matter of time before their sanctuary here would be threatened.

“The world thinks we turned our backs on them,” She whispers turning her face away. “I think this time they’re right.”

Clint shakes his head, setting her feet back under his thighs. “Nah don’t talk like that, me and Scott tried to help after everything went to shit. They didn’t want it, now they realize they needed us so they’re blaming us and every enhanced that’s trying to help out there is only getting burned out.”

“How do you know?” Natasha squints at Clint wondering how he was getting outside information, not even Shuri could get past most of the red tape. The news playing on the TV was a luxury not all Wakandans had at the moment.

“An enhanced P.I and blind ninja lawyer I met in Hell’s Kitchen before we left to here,” Clint laughs as if remembering some fun times. “we still keep in contact, they keep a low profile now and send me info when they can.”

“Tell me about them,” Natasha prompts and pulls the blanket around her tighter.

 

 

The next day she strides into the meeting Captain Marvel and Shuri were hosting dressed in whatever fur clothing she found in Queen Ramonda’s closet and the thickest socks she could find in Bucky’s drawers.

They needed to find the soul stone and quickly, apparently events were happening much quicker now that the time stone was going bonkers and Gamora was getting ready to meet up with Thanos in a week all over again.

“Tony, Steve,” She acknowledges, moving in between the two and winding her arms around theirs.

They give her bright smiles, Tony still dully violet even after so much time away from the power stone.

“What about Vision?” Rhodey calls out from the other end of the table, standing up. “The mind stone is pretty crucial isn’t it?”

Captain Marvel stops writing on the clear board arching her brow. “Yes he is, but he is also currently in the soul stone, even if he wasn’t with us un-doing what the snap did it should bring him back.”

“Should?” Thor questions crossing his arms over his chest.

“It is most likely to happen, if not Tony gets JARVIS back, wouldn’t that also be a pleasant surprise Stark?” She says gently like if she realized how her words could be interpreted.  

Tony doesn’t answer, merely sits down and burrows his head in his hands. Natasha runs her fingers up and down his back trying to soothe him. She meets Captain Marvel’s eyes trying to convey her message; We never took well to orders and we especially don’t now.

Be careful with us we’re are not just your soldiers.

 

 

Later in the evening she sneaks down to the training room Shuri had rebuilt a few months ago to keep her mind busy, including every possible exercise machine and weights and training station she could think of. All modern and state of the art and hardy enough to withstand super soldiers and gods.

She turns on a few lights making her way towards the barres and dance studio section. She sits herself in front of the mirrors tugging off her shoes and doing a few quick stretches. Lets see if I still have it in me. She slides on her pointe slippers and picks her grown out hair into a sloppy bun before walking over to the stereo whispering to it the music score she wanted.

Swan Lake begins to play and Natasha’s feet move to it automatically. She twists and turns, moving with the music making dangerous leaps and spins look like child’s play.

She can feel the sweat beading along her hairline, dripping down her back _. Faster faster, sharper turns, keep your stomach in_. She can hear her teacher loud and clear in her head and she switches it up adding punches and rolls, dipping low and executing a roundhouse kick at the right tempo.

She screws her eyes shut, there’s James shadowing her. Her handler calls out orders and pistols are involved making the routine more difficult. He picks her up and slams her into the ground. She pulls the pistol on him kicking her leg high and sharp.

She twirls and twirls.

“Nat! Natasha,” She crashes into James burying her head into his chest and bites her lip keeping the sobs at bay.

“It’s okay Natasha, I miss him too. We both miss him,” A voice soothes stroking her hair. She whips her head up, that wasn’t James.

“Steve? Shuri?” She glances at the Princess behind Steve, dressed in sweatpants and a sports bra, braids spilling over her shoulders.

“I thought you were making up the ballet training Nat,” Shuri says in measured tone. “But your better than most Prima Ballerinas I’ve seen, and I’ve seen most major ballet companies.”

Steve searches her faces gently wiping a single tear off her cheek. “We were going to see if you wanted to spar, but lets see if Shuri can convince Chef to make those favorite coconut and pineapple cakes we love?”

Natasha nods and hurries over to Shuri sliding an arm around her waist. “Thank you, for thinking I’m a great ballerina.”

Once upon a time, all she wanted to be was the best ballerina in Moscow.

 

 

Long after midnight she crawls into bed with Steve, careful not to disturb Bruce and Tony who had already starfished on the massive bed and tucks her head on his chest. She wanted just a little more comfort tonight. “Clint?” She hisses hoping he would still hear her. Beside her Tony stirs draping an arm around her waist and snoring.

“No, I like the floor,” He hisses back.

Steve chuckles and ruffles her hair placing a hand on Bruce’s back. “Too bad Thor wants to share a bed with Valkyrie, Okoye, and Nebula.”

She shrugs the best she can, “Not a bad choice, its Thor. And her name is Brunnhilde not Valkyrie.”

“What?” Steve whispers loudly making Natasha roll her eyes.

“She’s a Valkyrie but her name is Brunnhilde.”

Steve opens his mouth again to say something that probably wouldn’t make sense when Tony whispers above them, “If you two don’t shut it and go to bed I’ll go join Thor and his warrior bedmates.”

They both quickly shut their eyes, the steadiness of Steve’s breathing luring Natasha to sleep.

~

The next few days pass in a blur of playing cards and watching movies late at night with all the food Steve can think of. Everything from American street food to Wakandan delicacies that make Shuri smile brightly and wipe tears from her eyes.

In the mornings they spar and fight, Steve trains with Thor using his shields while his friend tries to get used to only using his fists. He tells Steve stories of him and Loki on Sakaar and how he only relied on his powers to save his people and not his hammer.

“I mean the ax isn’t bad,” Thor shrugs using it to conduct a small thunder storm for some of the village kids, squeals and laughter erupting as little lightning bolts strike out. “It just isn’t my hammer you know, and I thought it was something I would always have… along with my brother…” Thor falls into the silence the thunder storm quickly turning dark and erratic.

Steve puts his on the gods shoulder glancing about and shooing the kids away. “If anyone can fix this its you and Carol, hang in there Thor.”

Thor gives him a sad smile, clasping Steve’s neck. “You too Steven, do not lose hope. Our loved ones might yet still return.”

 

 

One night Captain Marvel calls them to the throne room, Shuri sitting on the throne sleepily wrapped in blankets her crown on crooked.

The rest of them file in taking their respect seats on the cushions on the floor or leaning against pillars. Steve sits next to Natasha and Clint watching Dr. Strange pace around the room casting spells around them and muttering about other dimensions and running into other selves.

“What is all this about Captain?” Tony calls out fiddling with his sunglasses. “Its almost midnight.”

Carol doesn’t look at him merely nods at Dr. Strange who waves his hands in a circle gold and green sputtering around them into a large portal. “Okay kids, pick your teams: One team is going to get the tesseract and deal with a very hot headed God of Mischief and the other is going to get the soul stone.”

Everyone looks at each other, Steve already knowing who he was going to pick even if he wanted all of his teammates with him.

“Trick question,” Carol smiles, “Tony, Steve, and Scott are going back to New York to get the tesseract and Natasha, Thor, Clint and Rocket are going to space to get the soul stone. Have fun guys.”

Dr. Strange splits the circle in two, one showing the Shield Helicarrier and what Steve can only assume is Fury talking to Hill and Natasha. The other shows Gamora and Quill talking hurriedly, Gamora pointing to Quills blasters before rolling out of view.

“Good luck,” he says quietly.

An hour later they’re all suited up and standing around the portals waiting to see who would take the first step. Steve glances at Tony, the man unreadable. “Do you—”

“Okay I’m done waiting,” Dr. Strange grumbles and throws the portals at them.

Steve braces himself, screwing his eyes shut.

 

 

“Well that’s one way to make an entrance Captain,” a familiar voice says.

Steve looks up meeting another Natasha’s eyes. He looks around Shield agents watching in amusement. He sits up carefully looking at the busted down door across from him.

That wasn’t… good?

“Um sorry?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guess who fucked up their wrists for a while and couldn't write???! Not me! I don't know what what ya'll are talking about   
> Yes it was me, but thank you for reading and leaving kudos and comments :)


	8. A (Anti)Climatic Heist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Give it up for everyone's favorite God of Mischief!! Including the very done Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Scott Lang

“I don’t see what I’m doing here,” Steve says again glaring up at Fury and Natasha. “So what if I ran through a door, I’ve been here all of two months!” Steve says pulling from his memories of how he felt fresh out of the ice, how clumsy all his movements and how he would always stumble over his words.

Nick Fury begins pacing giving him a look. “Which is precisely why we need to keep an eye on you Captain, we want to make sure you’re stable for a mission.” With a nod at Natasha he leaves the room the door sliding shut quietly behind him.

Natasha sighs and hops off the table closing Steve’s file. “He means well, Fury is just… under a lot of pressure from a lot of different people to make sure the Avengers Initiative goes through without any problems.”

Steve burrows his eyebrows playing along to his favorite spy’s games. “What do you mean Agent?”

Natasha shrugs gracefully giving a small smile, “We’ll be moving you to a personal room where you can rest up, from there depending on how you feel you can meet Stark and everyone else.”

Steve grins up at her and settles deeper into his seat. This was going to be fun.

 

An hour later he’s dozing off when the door opens loudly causing Steve to jump in his seat. A guard strides in his helmet covering his face completely. “Time to leave Captain.”

Steve stands up warily rolling his neck and shoulders. “Where are we going?”

“Follow me please Captain,” The man says again crossing his arms over his chest.

Steve decides to do as the man says and follows him out the door, keeping his head down and keeping pace with him. The guy nods at the other guards moving quickly down an empty hallway. He tries to think where he’s heard that voice before but everything is always fuzzy after travelling through time.

“Captain America, so sorry.”

Steve doesn’t have a chance to react before the man opens the door behind him and delivers a kick to Steve’s gut. Steve stumbles backwards pass the door gripping on the frame tightly. The other man charges him swinging out a baton that charges the air with electricity. Oh, he remembers those, they weren’t fun.

He moves to block and protect, taking a step back. The guy stops short and slams a button off to the side, throwing the baton off to the side. “Sorry!”

Why was the voice familiar? Steve looks up, “Sco—” The door slams shut in his face the room darkening around him.

~

~

The bright fluorescent overhead lights are the first thing Steve gets a good look at. He groans and rolls over, screwing his eyes shut. What the hell was going on?

“Finally, you wake up,” a smooth voice says and Steve bolts upright. He reaches for his shield, his fingers grasping nothing.

“Loki,” Steve hisses standing up. Loki remains seated on the bed arching an eyebrow at him. Steve tries to remember what Thor said about him, how he was under Thanos’ control that he changed for better… slightly.

“Captain America, a pleasure to meet you under better circumstances.”

Steve relaxes the tiniest bit when Loki doesn’t produce any knives or magic tricks in ten minutes and slinks back to the floor. “Well depends on which time we’re talking about. What are you doing here?”

Loki cocks his head to the side and waves a hand, “Its varying from moment to moment.” Steve look at the visions floating around the room. Steve couldn’t take it all in the various timelines and alternate futures that had Loki either dead, sleeping around, or fighting besides Thor. There of course was the one where he was in Germany yelling at Steve before he hit Loki with his shield.

Steve stay silent thinking of something to say, to maybe offer a truce or apology of some sort. Loki surprises him by talking first.

“That was a real great trick of you using sentiment against me to get what you want, while now you have me. I’ll help you get the Tesseract.”

The door glides open and two guards walk in, helmets hiding their identity like the last time Steve saw them. Both him and Loki stand up, Loki standing up much more languidly and producing his horned helmet.

“Relax Cap, Loki,” a warm voice says and the shorter man takes off his helmet.

“Stark,” both of them grind out. Steve more out of exasperation as he runs his hands through his hair and Loki barely holding back a smile. Loki huffs instead sitting back down on the bed.

“And Scott!” The second guard shake off his helmet and grins widely. Scott bounces on his toes slightly looking like he wanted to say something else or do something impulsive. Steve decided not to give him the chance to meet Loki’s unique personality and stepped forward.

“You two better start explaining what the hell is going on.”

 

~

~

An hour later Steve finds himself playing cards with Loki who is in fact out cheating him and Steve considered himself pretty good at counting cards. He could see why Tony and Scott didn’t want him helping out with finding the Tesseract mostly because well it was hard for him to blend in. He knew anyways how this mission played out Stark would find the Tesseract at the Tower soon enough.

Loki slams down a dagger in front of Steve’s hands pinning down his cards. “You’re distracted Captain, care to share?”

Steve shrugs reclining back into the chair. He didn’t feel like pouring his feeling out to the one person who could probably give less than a fuck about whether the universe lived or not.

Loki looks at him a small frown on his face and Steve decides to be the better person and spill what’s on his mind when a siren begins blaring loudly outside the room they were in. They both stand up and rush to the small door window, the two of them both trying to see out.

“Oh bloody hell,” Loki says before back up. “Looks like we have a Hulk situation. I have an agent to kill.”

Steve turns around reaching for Loki but the man is too quick fading out of the room with a tight look on his face. He hears the door open and Scott comes stumbling in holding his shield. “Banner…” Scott takes a deep breath in, “Banner got too close to Loki’s staff, turned into the Hulk time to suit up Cap.” He slings the shield towards Steve and shrinks down.

He catches it deftly the feeling familiar to him it had been a while since he used it. He runs out of the room and down the hallway heading towards the area he knows Tony will be.

“How nice of you to finally join us Captain,” Natasha spits out as he turns a corner he tries to say something back but she just holds up her hands and continues walking speaking into her comms about containing the Hulk.

Steve shakes his head still smiling he would always admire her whether she liked him in this timeline or not.

 

He makes it to the motors at about the same time the blades begin picking up speed and Tony starts losing control. Steve dodges a few brainwashed Shield agents using his shield to block numerous bullets and strikes his way.

“A little help Cap,” Tony gets out before ducking to avoid one of the metal wings.

“Working on it.” Steve yells over the whirr of machines as he jumps across the plankway. He ducks bringing his shield up to avoid being hit by the guy in the helicopter shooting at him.

“Pull the fucking lever Steve!” Tony’s voice comes out strained the clinks and crashes of the suit hitting the rotors.

Steve groans rolling away from the fire and jumping across the open air with all his might punching another agent in the face and reaching around the guy and _pulling the goddamn lever_ _Stark, yes I know_. The motor slows and spits out Stark the man flying towards Steve at an alarming speed.

Steve picks up the shield just as Tony crashes into him with a thud the two of them falling head over heels onto the floor. They both stare at each other for a half a minute before Tony shrugs himself off Steve not so very gently, kneeing him in the side and stands up.

There’s a hum in the air and Steve feels rather than sees Loki appear and laugh at them. Steve’s decides the floor is a nice place to stay.

 

 

Back in Tony’s lab they all huddle around the computers watching Dr. Selvig set up the Tesseract and the portal that would bring Thanos’ army into New York.

“So I decided not help you guys its been get getting to know you all though,” Loki declares surprising everyone in the room. He pushes off the table and strides towards the door ready to leave.

Tony decidedly has had enough and storms up to Loki grabbing him by the collar and bops him on the head with his fist. “No, The fuck you ain’t!” Loki for the most part has the decency to look slightly ashamed and confused.

Steve tries not to laugh out loud biting the inside of his cheek while Scott’s giggling dominates the room.

Tony takes a small step back looking up at Loki with fury in his eyes. “We had a deal you do not get to back out of that deal just because you don’t care what happens to the rest of us.”

Steve inches closer the both of them raising his shield and taking a small pistol out of his boot. Scott rounds on Loki blocking the exit with an oversized key board.

Loki laughs tossing his head back and holding onto Tony’s elbows. “This is madness! I also stand to lose a family Stark. Not just you.” He grits out the two men staring at each other.

“I’ll take you to the bloody Tesseract then!” Loki snaps his fingers an irritated crease appearing between his forehead. Blue light floods Steve’s eyes as he grips tightly to his shield the feeling of sinking overwhelming him.

They fall.

 

 

Steve hits the ground knees first his shield clanging on the ground next to him. Besides him comes a scream from above, Scott landing to his left in a belly flop.

Loki appears next to them perfectly put together holding his staff regally. He grins at them and turns around the New York skyline blindingly bright. Loki strides over to where Dr. Selvig is protecting the Tesseract and bends down murmuring a few words to him before tapping the tip of his staff on his forehead.

Steve stands wearily helping Scott up looking around for Tony. “Loki where’s Tony?”

Loki turns around the Tesseract disappearing from sight along with his staff. Steve raises a brow at him taking a step forward.

“Oh all right,” Loki mutters clapping his hands. A portal opens up above them blue magic swirling into black.

Faint yelling comes the portal getting louder each second that passes.

Tony falls from the sky and lands on the gravel beneath them, landing face first. Loki starts laughing loudly wheezing out something about _‘so that’s how it looked’_ before straighten again and smirking at tony.

“I have been falling for thirty minutes Loki!” Tony yells out lunging at Loki and his suit starting to form over his arms. Scott and Steve jog towards the both of them Scott gently placing his arms around Tony.

Steve jogs up to Loki placing a firm hand on his shoulder. “You’ve had your fun time to join us in the future.”

Loki looks at him and Steve thinks for a spilt second there are tears in his eyes glistening red ones that startle him. They’re gone before Steve can believes what he really sees and Loki is nodding holding out his hand and his staff reappearing in his hand.

Loki mutters a few words in what sounds like Norse, looks at all of them and slams the staff down on the ground.

The grounds rumbles and world fades from views the sky turning upside down and Steve screws his eyes shut and lets himself be taken back to Wakanda.

“Loki?” Thor’s voice comes out little above a whisper. “Is it really you?”  

The world is still tinny and Steve can’t make out much in the room only two figures striding across the throne room towards them.

A voice behind Steve rings out the glow blue of the Tesseract lighting up the room. “I assure you brother I am here, I told you the sun would shine on us… all of us.”

Steve can see both brothers reaching out, embracing and Steve can’t help but feel a pang of hurt in his chest but he swallows it down focusing on the happy reunion.

“Your Highness, welcome back.” Valkyrie says politely before connecting her fist to Loki’s nose. Loki jumps back from her, glaring while holding his nose.

Val makes a noise of content and turns on her heel walking out of the room. Steve smiles, it was good to be back.


	9. I May Be a Soul, but I am Yours and This is Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Natasha finally get to go after Bucky after many side quests, but will they bite off more than they can chew? Will Bucky even want to come back to reality?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry I did not update for like ever, but we are getting to the good part now!

Steve stares at the soul stone carefully on display in Shuri’s lab. The princess weaves between him headphones and sunglasses on her head. Now that there were three Infinity stones in the Queens’ lab everyone made sure that Shuri wouldn’t accidentally touch one or be tempted to pick up one of them. Hence the carefully crafted shades and headphones that kept the stones energy pulses away.

“So this is it,” Steve relents looking at Natasha, “Shuri, Carol, and Scott are 100% sure they are in there?”

Natasha nods placing a hand around Steve’s bicep. She leans in closer to the stone inspecting it, wondering if she squinted hard enough she’d see a little Barnes or Sam in there punching it out. She only got her own reflection.

“Scott says they can use Pym Tech, going subatomic, to try and get them out.” She straightens and Steve watches her feeling wary. Whenever Pym Tech was brought up there was always a fight between Shuri, Tony, and Scott about who’s tech was better. “That there’s these voids you can travel time with, can get into places you can’t normally get into.” Natasha continues trying to make sense of the very complicated theories written behind them on the holo-board.

Steve leaves her with Shuri walking out of the lab and heading down to where Bucky used to stay. It takes most of the day and he almost gets lost a few times but by sundown he reaches the stream and the small village. A few of the goats still wonder around grazing on the grass,, unaware that the other half of the herd is no more. There’s only three of the village boys left and they mostly avoid the Avengers now, wary of what they might bring again.

He ducks into the hut and lights the couple of lamps that lay on the ground. Steve sits on the bed, leaning against the wall. He should’ve let Bucky be, should’ve listened to Okoye when she said he’d seen too much. The air is humid, too sticky for Steve all of a sudden and he presses up against the cool walls of the hut.

 

“Steve?”

Steve jolts up hitting his head on the low ceiling. “Over here!” he calls. A minute later Natasha walks in with Clint at her heels holding his shield and suit.

“Stark patched it up, says to get over your emo phase,” Clint snorts handing him his belonging. Natasha shoots him an exasperated look and sits next to Steve with a backpack.

“We’re both going after Barnes I’m not letting you go alone,” Natasha leans against Steve, letting out a small laugh. “Especially when it comes to subatomic soul stone travel.”

Clint snorts handing Steve a razor and clippers. “Tasha’s going to cut your hair.”

Steve’s head snaps running his hand through his hair. “Why are we cutting it? I like it this way.”

Clint shrugs and gives him  a hard look.

“The universe needs Captain America again, not Nomad.”

 

~

The next morning Steve and Natasha meet up with Scott in the throne room. Steve can’t stop running his fingers through his hair so unused to it being cropped short, being clean shaven again. His uniform is repaired the star bright across his chest again and his shield slung around his back.

Scott is sitting in the middle of the room fussing with a small Hot Wheels van and carefully inspecting it before placing it back into small storage case. Captain Marvel stands close behind talking on her cell phone dressed in a loose button up shirt and what Steve remembers Shuri calling mom jeans, thick combat boots on her feet.

“She went into space in the 90’s from what I read in the Shield Data dumps,” Natasha whispers to Steve. “It’s like no time has passed for her, she’s adjusting like all of us.”

“Fury says everything's a go in San Francisco,” Carol says, tucking her cell phone away. “Is it just me or am I the only one who misses slamming a phone on the cradle?’ She laughs giving a thumbs up to Scott.

“I thought Fury didn’t make it?” Scott glances at Carol switching on the device on his wrist.

“That’s my secret Ant-Man, lets go,” Carol says sternly a smile playing on her lips. “Captain America, Black Widow line up.”

Steve and Natasha line up on either side of Scott holding onto to an arm each. Natasha leans forward and smiles widely, “So when we gets Barnes back does that mean you won’t be sleeping with us anymore?”

Steve barks out a laugh, glancing up at the ceiling. “You’re more than welcome to share a bed with us Nat.”

Natasha and Scott laugh heartily, his friend's cheeks tinging pink for once in her life. “Don’t tempt me with a good time Rogers.”

“Okay lets go!” Scott shouts over them hitting the button forcefully. There's a gust of wind and a swirl of green light and Steve feels the familiar whir of being sucked through time and the multiverse.

 

 

**San Francisco.**

They spend the morning out on the beach soaking in the sun. Now that half the population was gone and the unrest in general, the beach was almost completely empty save for a few seagulls and wild dogs.

Steve stays in a hoodie and jeans keeping guard as Natasha and Scott strip down and wade in the cool water. He can hear their laughter as they splash around as if they weren’t waiting for Fury to show up with Natasha’s weapons and hair dye. It would also be the first time Steve would be seeing the man since Ultron; He wonders how much the Ex-Director has changed.

When he turns back to the beach and his friends he’s mildly surprised to find Nick Fury standing next to him a few steps in front holding two duffel bags. “Director.” Steve calls out moving to stand side by side to him.

Fury turns to look at him giving a Steve a shit-eating grin before motioning towards Natasha and Scott. Natasha jumps at Scott blithely wrapping her legs around the mans neck and pulling him under the waves. “Didn’t feel like going for a swim Captain?”

The two rise a moment later, seaweed wrapped around both of them. They shriek and yell running back onto the beach.

Steve lets out a sigh, “No never really learned how to swim, just float.” Steve studies the man next to him a little harder. “Where’s Agent Hill?”

Fury looks back out to where Natasha is walking back towards them her clothes in her hand while Scott struggles to get his on while still soaking wet. “Fury!” She calls out jogging a little bit quicker.

“Gone, all of them are gone except Daisy and Coulson but their somewhere on a Skrull planet.”

Steve jostles at Coulson name turning to look at Fury with wide eyes. “What?”

Fury continues speaking as if he never heard Steve. “Carol plucked me out of 2015 a couple of weeks after Ultron, I didn’t make it either she said now shush Captain, no more dumb questions.”

Natasha and Scott finally reach them and Natasha smiles brightly at Fury. “You made it after all.”

Fury snorts handing over the bags. “I leave you alone with these guys for three years and the world goes to literal shit, I trust you won’t let me down. Everythings in there Widow.” Natasha takes the bag grinning and motions for Scott to follow her.

They brush past them and begin making their way into an empty beach house.

Fury turns back to Steve and gives him a hard look before looking down at his watch. “I’ll help as much as I can but know this; the soul stone is a tricky place I didn’t much care for it but your friend might. He might not want to leave.” Fury hands Steve something closing his fingers over it. There’s a pulse of energy that makes Steve close his eyes tight and when he opens them again Fury is gone.

He looks down at his hand.

Bucky’s dog tags.

 

 

 

Steve looks over the edge of the building their standing on, watching the few people mingling on the streets below. None of them look up missing the chance to see Captain America one more time.

He shakes his head turning back to where Natasha is typing away on the laptops and computers Scott had set up plugging in a few wires into the van that was now full sized and not toy size. The beeps and hums of the machinery lull Steve into a state of peacefulness and he walks over to where Natasha is pursing her lips and staring at a tablet in her hand swiping left and right.

“I don’t think there’s many choices on Tinder anymore Nat,” Steve jokes peering over her shoulder.

She swats at him humming noncommittally. “Not on Tinder at the moment trying to find the right equation that would get us as close to Bucky’s time vortex as possible.” She hums again typing a formula into a laptop at Steve’s hip, her nails varnished a deep red red again. She has knives and guns strapped all over her person, her widow bites and batons glowing blue faintly in the setting sun.

Steve watches her type more formulas into the laptops and flip on some switches, admiring her. She had her hair red again, bright and vibrant and her old Shield uniform on her Black widow insignia buckled tightly at her hips. Natasha looks the exact same as when Steve met her back in 2012, maybe that was the look she was going for.

“Scott, looks like we might pass by Hope and Hank, did you want to go after them?” Natasha raises a brow looking at Scott as the man pops a grape into his mouth.

“I don’t want to leave you guys alone…” Scott trails off a pained expression coming over his face.

“We’ll be fine Scott,” Steve speaks up trying to put on the voice he used back when he was trying to convince people to buy war bonds. “They’re important to you also, go after them.”

Scott looks between the two of them biting his lip hard. “You two go in first you’re mission take precedent over this one. I’ll go in after I know you two are in the soul world.” He walks over to them picking up a bag at Steve’s feet.

Scott takes out three radios and three digital watches syncing up the watches together. “We have two hours to retrieve and extract, ha I sound like Fury, any longer and things start going funny in both the soul world and being subatomic. It messes with your minds, try not to push it.”

Natasha and Steve both take the the radios and watches strapping them onto their persons. Scott continues talking showing them how to set the radios to a frequency all of them can hear even being subatomic.

Scott inists they all eat before travelling through space and time pulling out of his backpack containers of food from Wakanda. Steve spots his favorite curry and lettuce wraps and Natasha spicy noodle and seafood dish she loved to gorge on. Thanks to shuri the containers heat up with a touch of a button and the lemonade and iced tea packed in thermos is cold and refreshing.They all eat in comfortable silence, not saying anything.

After they finish eating Scott powers on the van and opens up the back showing the gateway to the subatomic and soul world.

“Ready to get our guy back Rogers?” Natasha whispers, clicking on her backpack. Steve settles his shield behind him, tugging on Bucky’s old dog tags.

“More than anything.” Steve looks behind him, reaching for Natasha’s hands. He gives Scott one sharp nod and Scott flips a switch, giving him a thumbs up.

“Good luck,” He yells. “Now jump!”

They both jump into the van and into the vortex and the world turns to honey.

There’s voices in his head saying he wont make it. He’s shrinking, smaller and smaller. He holds onto Natasha tightly, who thrashes and kicks every which way. The colors are so bright he can see them behind closed eyes, its too loud for him the shrieking and the yelling. Half the worlds populations reaching out with sticky fingers. Half the universe’s population clinging to them and pulling them down, down.

“Guys snap out of it, open your eyes!” Scott yells over the radio, its enough to snap Steve into opening his eyes.

The world around him is honey colored, small particles float in and away from him looking like small rodents. There’s pockets and holes everywhere shooting out bright colors. Natasha is next to him slowly pulling out her taser gun and opening her eyes wide. Its beautiful in a deadly way Steve recognizes, this place could trap them forever if they weren’t careful.

Natasha nudges him pointing their GPS towards a pocket spewing red and silver colors. "Its saying its that one.”

There’s a beep and Steve looks down at his wrist the timer flashing 50:00. How did they waste a whole hour down here already? Steve shakes his head pushing forward and towards the pocket that would lead them to Bucky.

Natasha and Steve share a look with each other and Steve hold up three fingers counting down silently.

At one they take a running jump diving head first into the soul world.

 

The first thing Steve sees when he opens his eyes are the deserted streets of Washington D.C. It feels eerily quiet and honey tinged around the corners. He thinks he hears car alarms in the distance going off and maybe a dog barking but it can’t be real. None of this can be real.

Steve rolls over on his side where Natasha is sitting up squinting at the GPS. “Scotts found Hank, Hope and his daughter. He’s going to see if he runs into anyone else.”

Steve gets the message clear; Scott wouldn’t be joining them anytime soon.

They walk down the roads on high alert peering into every house and car searching for Bucky searching for anyone really. Half the worlds population disintegrates and the one place they assumed they would be they aren’t.

They finally reach the Washington Monument where a lone figure sits clutching at the marble steps, head bowed.

Steve steps forward ready to call out to Bucky when Natasha places a hand on his arm tugging him back gently. The spy shakes her head drawing out her gun carefully, too quietly much to Steve’s apprehension.

When they reach the steps the figure snaps his head up, startled. Its Bucky, but Steve can see its not him. The Winter Soldier snaps to attention pulling out two pistols and pointing them at Steve and Natasha.

“Who the hell are you two?” The soldier demands in Russian his gaze never wavering.

Steve puts his hands up slowly eyeing Natasha.

“Stand down Soldier,” Natasha says firmly but softly. “Do you not remember us?”

The Soldier shrugs and narrow his eyes at them. “No, and I do not want to”

Steve feels his chest tighten as he remembers what Fury told him, gave to him. He carefully lowers his hand and digs around his pockets carefully pulling out the dog tags Steve had brought along.

He hands them over urging the Soldier to take them. “You do remember us, look.”

That’s when the Soldier smiles brightly flashing Steve a smile he painfully remembers that belonged to Bucky and Bucky alone. “Follow me you two,” the soldier says softly in English this time leading them to behind Abraham Lincoln.

The scenery changes again. Natasha holsters her gun at her side as Washington D.C fades around them melting into a much more barren landscape. There’s dirt everywhere with weeds growing and a small lake in the center the sky a yellowish color.

Steve finally notices that the soldier is no longer around having seemingly faded from existence.

“What is this?” Natasha says loudly strapping her gun back into its holster.

“Home Romanoff its home,” A familiar voice calls out and from a cluster of trees in the distance Bucky comes into view. He’s smiling warmly with his arm spread out wide and Steve can’t help himself in that moment he drops his shied and sprints towards him.

Bucky doesn’t have the time to register Steve barreling towards at high speed so when Steve jumps onto Bucky the two of them go tumbling onto the floor kicking up dirt. They’re both laughing but Steve can feel the tears streaming down his cheeks. Steve hold on tighter to his lover pressing urgent kisses wherever.

“Stevie! Steve you punk you are heavy,” Bucky gasps tangling his hair in Steve’s. Steve sits up slightly carefully pulling up Bucky along with him. He gazes into Bucky’s eyes finding nothing strange and everything familiar into the steel eyes, Bucky smirks at him raising his metal arm to trace Steve’s features.

The touch alone does him in and Steve drags Bucky down kissing him passionately. He pulls Bucky closer unable to get enough of him, running his fingers through Bucky’s hair, down his back, finally resting on his chest. Bucky kisses him back keeping his hands around Steve’s neck.

“Ughhhh Mr. Bucky sir, Sam sent me to find you.”

The two pull apart, Bucky laughing hysterically at Steve as his face reddens all the way down his neck. Steve rubs at his face trying not to let this kid see how embarrassed he really was. He turns around locking eyes with Natasha who’s giving him a small smile holding up the timer. Steve looks down on his own, only twenty minutes left they had to move quickly.

“Bucky,” Steve starts pushing away his feelings for the meantime. “Are there others here? The kid mentioned Sam?”

“That pain in my ass can stay here,” Bucky snorts. “Lets leave right now.” Bucky looks down at the kid and ruffles his hair. The kid stares open mouth between Steve and Bucky, gaping at both of them. “Hey Peter introduce yourself.” Bucky rolls his eyes but his face remains fond and Steve knows Bucky has come to be this kids protector.

Peter starts giving Steve a bright smile. “I’m Peter-Man… No wait Spider-Man, I mean Peter my real name is Peter! Mr. Stark didn’t say the two of you were a thing!” Bucky lets out a loud laugh pushing Peter back into the trees.

Steve waves at Natasha calling the redhead over. Bucky yells out for her tucking Natasha under her arm when she finally makes her way over to them. As they walk into the trees Bucky reaches for Steve’s hand lacing their fingers together and pressing a kiss to Natasha’s forehead.

~

There’s a clearing once they reach the center of the small forest Bucky explains that the place here is supposed to resemble the Wakandan jungle but it lacks as he puts it actually being in Wakanda.

At the clearing there’s all their friends and many more laughing around small glittering fires and lounging on logs and hammocks. So this is what they’ve been up to Steve thinks, trying to rationalize what he’s seeing.

Bucky speaks up, “The first few, I don’t really know how long we’ve been in here, but at first we all moped around and cried hell we thought we were dead and living in each other’s hells which was kinda funny also. When we figured we were more in limbo and very much still alive we just started… whats that word Peter uses… chillaxing?”

Bucky laughs and calls out to the group. “Guys guess who came to join us!”

Everyone turns around and there’s a brief moment of silence and stillness before the entire group rushes towards the three of them yelling and speaking at once. Steve ducks behind Bucky watching as finally Sam, T’Challa, Wanda, and Peter make their way towards the front pushing various people and one guy Steve thinks he remembers being Quill.

“Captain it is good to see you but why are you and Natasha here?” T’Challa furrows his brows looking between them.

“We’re here to get you out of the soul stone and we don’t have much time.”

“We have fifteen minutes before the van shuts off and we’re stuck in the soul world too or worse we go subatomic again.” Natasha supplies pointing at a clearing in the trees. “There I’ll set up the portal there. Sam, Wanda care to help?”

Steve spends the next five minutes talking to the Guardians and T’Challa watching warily as Bucky and Peter try rounding up some of the goats that where wandering around the camp.

Natasha walks over to them and points to the portal whirring in the distance. “Time to go boys.”

Steve ushers Bucky, Peter, and Wanda through the portal first going down the crowd and making sure he lets everyone know that everything was going to be ok. Natasha stays by the portal with T’Challa showing him how Scotts and Hanks tech worked.

Steve works at trying to get everyone through the portal in an orderly fashion but eventually the people begin fighting each other, pushing and shoving the other out of the way and out of the path of the portal. Steve tries to keep them in line but its no use barely dodging a few blows himself.

He jogs back up to the front where Natasha is pushing T’Challa through the portal the wind snapping on his cheeks. “We don’t have anymore time, the portal is shutting down. Not everyone is going to make it.” She cranks a dial on the GPS and hits the red button on the side.

“We can’t just leave everyone here stuck in the soul world,” Steve tries to argue but he can see its no hope he barely makes out Wanda on the other side using her own magic to help hold the portal together. Steve looks behind him at all the people still fighting and pushing to get through into the real world.

Natasha shakes her head giving Steve a pained look. “Scotts already back there, we have everyone we need. We don’t need to get stuck in here either.” Steve nods and pulls Natasha close to him.

He tips them backwards into the portal and Natasha hits the red button on the GPS again the portal closing off from the soul world. The last thing Steve sees is the last few desperate people clawing to get through the portal, the honey light fading into darkness.

 

Steve wakes up to someone stroking his hair murmuring kind words so low even he can barely make them out. The world around him comes to life as he tries to open his eyes, sounds and colors running together.

“Shhh give him some space he fell on his head, the idiot.”

Bucky?

Steve jolts up, twisting around onto his knees. Holding him loosely Bucky grins softly at him, pushing away stray hair with his metal hand the whirring of the metallic plates bringing a sense of peace to Steve.

“What? Hit your head a little to hard there punk,” Bucky laughs tracing Steve’s jaw.

Steve leans forward, cupping Bucky’s face in his shaky hands. “You’re real?”

Bucky’s face softens even more leaning into Steve’s touch. “I’m real, I’m right here.” He whispers.

Steve doesn’t wait a moment longer, he surges forward capturing Bucky’s lips in his own. At once he is at peace, he is at home in the arms of his lover and best friend. The war in his head quiets for a blissful minute. Steve groans softly putting distance between them and lightly kissing Bucky’s forehead. He lets his eyes flutter shut.

 

This was home.


	10. This Is a Brief Interlude, a Small Moment of Peace.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With everyone's loved ones back, the crew take a much needed break to regroup and catch up on life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we are back to our regularly scheduled Bucky POV! enjoy :)

Bucky looks around at the mess of people huddled in Wakanda’s throne room feeling his heart surge.

Shuri, T’Challa, Okoye, and The Queen Mother were all hugging tightly. Shuri frantically taking off her crown trying to pass it back to her brother. The man laughs shaking his head and placing the crown back on Shuri’s head touching her cheek.

Across the room Natasha is holding Wanda tightly, rocking back and forth in a rare show of emotion from the Widow. Sam stands next to them smiling brightly and talking to Rhodes. Bucky smiles at them giving a small wave.

He turns his head to the opposite direction where Rocket is climbing all over the rest of the Guardians he got to know in the soul stone. Gamora and Quill holding tightly onto each other pressing kisses to each other’s cheeks, foreheads, lips. Nebula and Gamora share a long hug and whispered words while Quill, Drax and Mantis clap each other on the back.

Bucky looks at Scott next who’s sitting on the floor with his daughter holding her close while tears stream down his face. Hope and Hank sit behind him with tears in their own eyes, hoping reaching out to hold Scott’s hand. Scott’s ex and her husband stand a little away from them taking in the wonders of Wakanda’s throne room.

Lastly Bucky turns his focus on a shadowed part of the throne room where Stark and Peter are kneeling, holding onto each other both sobbing. Stark keeps running his hands over Peter’s face and shoulders tugging on Peter’s hair to make sure he is real. Peter laughs through his tears tucking himself into Starks arms.

Bucky looks down at Steve dozing in his arms. Steve had insisted he stay even though he had a head injury to see everyone reunite but had dropped after kissing him. Bucky thought it was about time to take him down to medical.

Bucky wakes up Steve gently waving over Sam to help lift him up. They get him on his feet when the throne room’s door burst open Fury and Maria Hill walking in first followed by a lady Bucky had never met walking a foot above the ground her fists glowing.

“Captain,” Steve slurs next to Bucky. “We did it.”

The lady glance over at them and gives a warm smile. “Go get medical attention.” Sam and Bucky nod and help Steve out of the room.

The last thing he hears is the lady speaking about food and lodgings.

 

 

Bucky sticks around the medical wing until the doctors give Steve the clear who is already up and talking about rejoining the rest of the Avengers. Bucky promptly gave him his murder glare insisting that he stay in medical a couple more hours, just to make sure.

Bucky had different ideas about how to spend the next couple of hours though, starting with finding Natasha.

 

He finds her in the library reading a book of Russian fairytales. “Natalia!” He calls lowly sliding into a seat next to her.

“James,” Nat purrs putting down her book. “Welcome back to reality, we’ve quite missed you.”

Bucky smiles at his friend reaching out and clasping her hands in his. “I need you to catch me up on everything that has happened since the snap.”

Natasha nods and gives him a sad smile her eyes watering, this was not the Natalia Bucky was used to but as her story goes on Bucky can see and feel the changes that have happened to his dear friend and the rest of everyone in Wakanda. More importantly he now knows what to expect with Steve.

 

 

“How are you doing Barnes?” Stark says delicately as they all sit in the dining room for dinner. The civilians that had made through the portal had long been cleared and put up elsewhere in Wakanda until arrangements could be made to get them to their homes, tonight only the Avengers and family where occupying the palace.

Bucky shrugs trying to remember if he and Stark had made up in the past. “Not bad for coming back from the dead.” No they hadn’t, Stark must be offering peace then.

“I agree with you that,” Stark exhales loudly scanning the room. “It’s a new era for everyone.”

With that Stark find Peter waving him over eagerly pointing to the sit next to him. Cute, Bucky thinks that Stark is finally a parent in some sense of the word. Bucky takes his seat next to Steve and T’challa making sure he was T’Challa’s left and Shuri on his right across from him.

It reminds him of the last night they had all eaten together, minus a few aliens and talking trees, he reaches for Steve’s hand giving it a squeeze even as he remembers the scene he had made. Jesus Christ was he always a chump?

Dinner goes over smoothly with even the Guardians enjoying second and third plates of food and dessert.

Eventually Shuri says something to Peter and Cassie that makes Groot laugh and the four teens jump off the seats running towards Shuri lab.

“Your Majesty that’s not good,” Stark says abruptly pointing after the teenagers. “Two genius kids plus a talking tree and ten-year-old in Shuri’s lab is not a good idea.”

T’Challa laughs waving off Stark, “The two geniuses can handle themselves the Queen is merely letting us old folks talk about old stuff.”

“So, you’re not taking up the mantle of king again, Your Majesty?” Okoye asks tentatively digging into her mango shaved ice.

T’Challa shakes his head staring at everyone in the room sternly. “No, Shuri has become an excellent queen while I was…. Gone. Everyone is used to her to take that from her, I cannot do that. I will still keep the mantle of Black Panther as Shuri has no interest in taking it up any time soon.”

Bucky nods and that is the end of that discussion. He turns to Steve and Stark where they discuss space and Wakanda. In all honesty Bucky could listen to Stark talk about space and all its wonders, just don’t tell the guy Stark’s ego didn’t need that much of a boost lord.

At the end of the night after everyone goes their separate ways save Dr. Strange, T’Challa, Bucky and Steve. Steve nestles up to Bucky pressing his nose against Bucky’s neck and leaving barely there kisses. Bucky smiles, tilting Steve’s chin up and kissing him lightly.

“Go to bed you two, this work can wait for the morning,” T’Challa chides waving them away.

Bucky doesn’t dare wait for T’Challa to kick them out a second time and hauls Steve up and all but runs down the hallways like they were boys again all the way down to their room. At the bedroom door Bucky pulls Steve close to him kissing him full on the lips, nibbling on his lower lip.

Steve responds right away tangling his hands in Bucky’s hair opening his mouth for Bucky to taste, to explore.

They makeout against the door Bucky running his hands over Steve’s chest, his hips, grazing his ass. He snaps his hands back up to Steve’s hair tugging hard on it and hooking one leg on Steve’s waist.

Oh god he had missed this. The heat flowing through him, the love he had for this one man. It didn’t matter how many times he had walked into hell, he’d gladly do it again. All for this one man that Bucky loved completely, selflessly.

He pushes the door open finally, ready to toss Steve on the bed and make love to him when the figure already on the bed catch his eye. He stops Steve’s momentum, placing his metal hand firmly on his chest. “Wait, look.”

It takes a minute but Steve eventually chuckles. “I totally forgot, Buck. After the snap Natasha, Bruce, and I started sleeping in the same bed out of grief we had to have each other next to us the nightmares got so bad sometimes. Eventually Clint joined us, then Stark. That’s why the bed is big.”

Bucky laughs softly next to him, of course they would share a bed. It was endearing to Bucky actually. “So where’s Thor and Strange?”

Steve bares his teeth smiling at his friends sleeping. “Thor shares a bed with Val, Nebula, and Okoye. Strange sleeps in his own quarters, so does Scott.” Steve yawns next to him looking at he bed longingly.

Bucky feels himself yawn as well, the days events hell the whole year and halfs events were catching up to him. He just wanted some shut eye. Doing Stevie his way could a wait a night or two. “Do you think they’ll mind if we join them?”

“Bruce and Nat will kick us off since we didn’t get our spots when they did, come we can get the couch.” Steve leads them over to a nest of blankets and pillows made up on one of the most comfortable couches Bucky had seen in a while and they both stripped down, not bothering with pajamas.

Steve gingerly poked around the blankets smiling when he found Clint. “Roll over you oaf,” Steve grunts moving the archer around before climbing in. “Come on, join me.”

Bucky doesn’t need to prompted twice, he climbs in after Steve holding the man to his chest before finally drifting off into a deep sleep.

~

The next morning Clint delivers a swift kick to Bucky’s kidneys and sends him tumbling to the floor clutching his backside. To his amusement Steve’s on the other side of Clint in a complete starfish position while the archer is curled into a tight ball where Bucky was currently sleeping, quite peacefully too he might add.

“And nothing changes,” Bucky mutters under his breath and head towards the direction of the bathroom.

The minute he steps into the bathroom he does a neat 180 and takes three big steps out covering his eyes and blurting out apologies.

Natasha peaks her head through the door laughing silently still absolutely naked. She waves him inside and all but drags him into the bathroom when he refuses. “Took Rogers a while too but then we realized we all shared this bathroom, all our crap was in here, nudity no longer became an issue.” Natasha shrugs gracefully her chest bouncing. Bucky blanches and hurries to the bathroom muttering about modesty and respect.

He thanks the heavens that the toilet has a door and he can piss in private.

~

“We need our own room,” Bucky grumbles later on after breakfast as he and Steve head down to the gym.

“Why?” Steve looks at him innocently, blue eyes wide. Bucky flails his hands about trying to convey everything wrong with that answer with various noises.

“Why? Well one no privacy to you ya know, have sex,” Bucky lists stabbing Steve with his pointer finger. “Two because in the span of twenty minutes I saw a nude Natasha, a nude Tony Stark, and a naked Clint! Lord my eyes burn,” Bucky all but scream jabbing Steve three more times in the chest.

Steve has the decency to look wounded, rubbing his chest with his hand. “Okay, I’ll talk to Shuri about finding us a room of our own, but first lets spar.”

 

When they get to the gym, however, they find the teenagers playing kickball. Or some version of it that involved Peter’s webs, Groots leaves and branches acting as bats, and Shuri controlling robots.

“Mr. Loki!” Peter shouts looking into the distance. “Remember you can’t fatally stab anyone including the robots!”

Bucky shares a long look with Steve and they both spin on their heels opting to spar outside.

~

At dinner Bucky tries to have an actual conversation with Captain Marvel and Gamora because they were really badass warriors. Except the teens were up to something and wouldn’t stop referencing videos they found on the internet.

Currently Stark was wheezing as Peter recounted, again, to Sam, Quill, Stark, T’Challa, and Val how he took down Captain America in an obnoxious German accent. Captain Marvel herself giggles as she hears Peter again, shaking her head.

“He is funny, I’m glad he is a member of the team even if he is a tad too young.”

“If it were up to me,” Fury interjects tossing back a drink. “Bug boy would be back in Queens where he belongs, but apparently Stark is also his guardian. Imagine that! I can barely imagine that.”

“I think he makes an excellent guardian,” Carol says lightly taking a bite of her salad. “I’ve gotten to speak to Stark many times, he’s quite the person.”

Bucky smiles and winks at Steve who looks like a kicked puppy, pouting into his stew.

That night they tumble into a bed they don’t have to share with anyone and enjoy each other’s company. Again and again.

Bucky falls into such a deep sleep, he dreams of nothing.

~

A month later Steve and Bucky push the throne room doors open revealing the whole of the Avengers yelling at each other, the Infinity stones lines up in the center of the room. Shuri sits at her throne looking frustrated and angry her crown slipping off her head.

“What the fuck is going on?” Bucky whispers as they walk into the fray. Steve spins Tony around asking him the same thing.

“Carol and Scott say Thanos is getting close to us, but our reading on the time stone is going haywire. Strange says we’ve used it too many times and now we’re all yelling at each other.”

Bucky looks around the room trying to find a way to sort this out when a loud bang come from the throne. Shuri hits her staff again, the Vibranium ringing out loudly.

“Next person that speaks—”

“Your moms a hoe!” Peter yells loudly, just as the room quiets. “Hey, ow! No it’s a vine swear Mr. Stark!” Bucky turns around in time to see Tony hit Peter upside the head again and to catch Shuri bend over laughing.

“In all seriousness though, shut up.” Shuri says, a deadly tone creeping into her voice. “Only the high council will convene right now, the rest of you can leave.”

People file out of the throne room grumbling and swearing until the only left are Captain Marvel, Gamora, Nebula, Steve, Okoye, T’Challa, Bruce and Thor. Bucky turns to leave when Carol calls out. “No stay Sergeant Barnes your skills are needed.”

 “As what? A brainwashed assassin?” Bucky bites back, rolling his eyes.

“In a way yes,” Carol says turning her back to him. He thinks he sees her crack a smile.

 

After debating for several hours and two lunch breaks they come to an agreement; They need to get away from Thanos and destroy the rest of the stones.

Strange agrees reluctantly to their plan.

That night Bucky suggests they all pile into the same room, for good times sake. Natasha curls around him, stroking his hair while Steve falls asleep against his chest. He can hear Bruce and Clint snoring, and he thinks Stark is spooning Natasha. Either way after only ten minutes he dozes off.

That night he dreams. Its halting and blood curdling, he dreams about the many faceless people he was ordered to kill. He dreams of the cold and empty place the soul world was before he found the others. He dreams of darkness.

He bolts upright wiping the sweat off his brows with both hands.

Bucky’s eyes finally land on the window facing out into the jungle, Natasha is curled up in a blanket staring blankly out the window. Steve is at his side snoring softly one arm tossed around Bucky’s middle.

Bucky quietly slides off the bed wrapping a sheet around his shoulders and makes his way to where Natasha sits, silently sliding into the spot across from her. They don’t say anything, Natasha doesn’t even glance at him and Bucky does the same, propping up a pillow and relaxing his head against it.

In the end their hands meet in the middle griping onto each other in silent uncertainity. The world was becoming more tangled every morning. They wondered if every morning would eventually be the last.

But they griped onto to each, former soviet spies and assassins, because in the end that’s what friends did; they were there for each other through how ever many wars it took.

 

 

 

In the morning, Steve and Bucky enter the time stone’s portal after Natasha and Carol. The moment he steps through he feels something isn’t right.

The next time he wakes up there’s a calendar in front of him

December 2057.

What the actual fuck?

~

Steve wakes up in a creaky bed, nothing at all like the ones in Wakanda. Damn how long has he been out? He rolls over hitting the form next to him.

“Chrisssake Steve, that’s no way to wake up a lady.”

Peggy?

Steve jolts up and turns to the nightstand a pocket calendar and checkbook tucked next to a watch. He picks it up and turns to where its carefully bookmarked.

July 1949.

This can’t be real.

~

Natasha shakes Carol awake, pressing her hand against the Captains mouth. She pulls out a knife from her boot holding it up to the door. She can hear them, she knows them all too well. She knows the month and year by memory too.

February 1985.

Something had gone very, very wrong indeed.


	11. So, You End Up in a Different Timeline... Pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve wakes up back in 1949 will the allure of a seemingly normal and well-adjusted life convince him to stay with Peggy?  
> Bucky finds himself tossed into the middle of yet another War to End all Wars... in the future. With another infinity stone within reach can he risk both his life and those of children?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen..... this fic ain't dead yet! Im sorry life keeps getting busy but enjoy another chapter

Bucky bangs on the door to his suite trying to figure out what exactly was going on. It looked like the room him and Steve slept in a few days ago but it felt different. The jungle outside the window was dying the vines and trees brown. It looked like it wanted to storm but after several hours no rain came. Bucky would know the digital clock on the wall rang out three times.

The room itself was all dark metal and dark fabrics. The bed was no longer the light airy one with many colorful blankets him and Steve slept with. Instead it was backed by a large chrome headboard and footboard, plain scratchy black sheets made up the bed. The walls were paneled dark wood with no decorations and black and silver tile laid on the floor, gone were the plush carpets and rugs.

A single calendar and clock hung on the wall and on the dresser by the door a small metal bowl filled with candied almonds were the only other decorations.

Bucky banged on the door again his metal hand finally denting the door. “Hey what’s going on out there?”

The door swings open and Bucky takes a step back taking in the sight of the young girl in front of him, a crown on pearls and metal vines on her head tangled with thick braids. Bucky has to remind himself to close his mouth because this cannot be real, if the year is right this cannot be real.

“Shuri?” Bucky whispers taking a step closer to the girl in front of him.

The girl smiles sadly at him, sheathing a dagger Bucky didn’t notice she had taken out. “You must have hit your head harder than we thought Sergeant Barnes.

I am not Shuri, I am her granddaughter; Queen of Wakanda.”

Bucky can feel his head swim and the last thing he sees before fainting, again, is Shuri’s granddaughter reaching for him.

~

~

Steve lies still in the bed, trying to breathe deeply and steadily as Peggy shuffles out of bed naked and into the bathroom across the bed. As soon as he hears the lock click he bolts upright checking the pocket book again.

The date is circled in red, July first 1949. This cannot be real, Steve thinks as he gets out of bed and throws back the curtains. He’s met with a large backyard with grass and a small garden that’s already boasting vegetables.

Steve sneaks out of the bedroom running his hands against the hallway walls covered in cream and navy-blue wallpaper, pictures of him and Peggy and the Howlies on the walls. He opens the doors to the two other bedrooms on this floor finding them both empty and plainly made up. He finds himself releasing a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

Steve quickly hurries down the stairs the bright morning sunlight blinding him for a moment. There’s a piano in the sitting room and shelves upon shelves of books, a small desk and typewriter tucked into a corner.

Steve walks over to the desk carefully picking up the first letter he sees there. Its addressed to Peggy from Howard Stark, talking about a lead in Russia. Steve puts the paper down and backs out of the room making his way towards the kitchen.

Everything looks foreign yet familiar and instinct takes over as Steve starts making coffee and cutting two slices of pound cake, setting cups and the cake on a tray. There’s a radio in the breakfast nook and tickets taped to the fridge for New York.

That shakes Steve out of his reverie staring at the tickets closely. First class tickets from Malibu to New York City. Him and Peggy didn’t live in New York?

“Oh look at you darling,” Peggy says and Steve turns around his breath hitching as Peggy stands in front of him holding a gun holster and a strand of pearls her shirt unbuttoned and halfway tucked into her skirt. “Still bringing me coffee after four years of marriage, but we don’t have time for that we leave for the airport in thirty minutes! Get dressed you, Howard will be here any minute.”

Steve does as Peggy says trying to wrap his head around everything.

This wasn’t right. This is the life he had had dreams about, this couldn’t possibly be a reality. As much as he had loved Peggy, this wasn’t meant to be his life.

~

~

Bucky stared at the children grouped around him, weapons lax at their sides but faces pinched. “Okay so tell me who you all are again because I’m old and don’t remember.”

That makes the kids laugh heartily, shaking their heads and putting away their weapons. The first girl steps up side eyeing Shuri’s granddaughter and the other dark haired girl beside her. She clears her throat taking out her sword.

“I’m Torunn Thorsdottir, my father sent me to Earth in his stead to continue to defend earth,” Torunn says sweeping her sword out the rest of them. “We are the Young Avengers.”

The next one to step up has a familiar glean in his eyes and looks slightly older than the rest of the teens, more in his twenties. “I’m James Rogers, mom and dad named me after you and I’ve taken up the mantle of Captain America.”

“I’m Kate Bishop,” The girl in torn jeans, holding both a bow and iced latte says elbowing her way to the front. “Hawkeye trained me, but I was already a better archer.” She smiles and points to the girl besides her the one with the American flag bomber jacket and cut off shorts and a mane of messy curls hiding her face.

“This is my girlfriend America Chavez, she generally kicks ass.”

America smiles brightly at that kissing Kate on the cheek.

“Then there is us, me Loki of Asgard,” A familiar voice says shoving Torrunn and America out of the way. “He’s Billy Kaplan, and the other blond is Teddy Altman aka Wiccan and Hulkling.”

Bucky takes them all in leveling his eyes at James. “What happened to the Avengers, my Avengers.”

James looks down quickly nudging at Shuri’s granddaughter.

She gently places a hand on his arm the metal shining dully. “The Avengers are dead Barnes, killed by Ultron. Only you, the Scarlet Witch, and Iron Man survived. We know not where Wanda is anymore and Stark died ten years ago hiding us here.

Bucky turns around walking quickly towards the window. He looks out into the jungle a sharp drop waiting just a couple of inches outside. This compound was built on a cliff then, with remote access. He shuts his eyes, he wasn’t supposed to be here he was supposed to be on a mission with Steve in goddamn 2019 not 2057.

If Steve was dead in this timeline something was seriously and tragically wrong.

“How do we stop Ultron, again, because apparently he didn’t die the first time.”

 

 

Bucky takes a good long look at all the photos lined up in the common room, spanning decades and centuries if the photos of Steve and Bucky from the 1940s is anything to go by. There’s a photo that brings tears to his eyes though.

A picture of Steve and Natasha at a courtroom dress semi-formally sliding rings onto each other. The photo next to it has Natasha holding a small bundle in her arms smiling brightly at the camera. Both are dated 2020 and 2032.

“So, Nat and Steve are your parents?” Bucky whispers to James, spinning around to face him.

James nods going over to the pictures. “Yeah they are, they died after my eleventh birthday. Stark made sure to keep me and Torrunn safe and then when the Young Avengers popped up you and Stark looked after all of us. Now its just you and Visions head if we remember to charge him.”

Bucky chuckles at that, serves the android right.

That was when everything clicked into place. The mind stone and Vision, lying here useless and that was the only stone they needed. If they had Vision back home they’d have the upper hand again.

Bucky looks into the mirror that hangs above the pictures and tilts his head one way and the other, the streaks of gray in his hair would take some time to get used to as well as the scar that runs from his chin to his collarbone but overall he looks pretty much like a sixty something year old.

He continues staring letting the tears that run down his face blur his vision. He’d be damned to stay in this bleak reality.

~

~

Steve watches as New York City comes into view as the clouds part. The plane begins its bumpy descent, Peggy touches up her lipstick beside him blowing him a kiss when she’s finished. He smiles shyly back trying to ignore all the other stares that are coming his way.

If he thought the 21st century’s obsession with him was bad this was worse, so much worse.

“Remember Dugan is picking us up and we’re going to the club for lunch and a briefing and then we have a few hours to wander around the city before we have that god-awful gala Howard is putting on for the VA.” Peggy says breezily reaching for Steve’s hand, he lets her intertwining his fingers with hers no matter how weird it felt.

“Do I have to be Captain America tonight or Steve?” Steve looks at Peggy carefully wondering badly how he ended up here and not with Bucky.

Peggy laughs nervously waving her hand and gives him a strange look. “Well I’d presume both darling.”

Steve slumps lower in his seat, pretending to be very interested in the clouds

 

 

When they step off the plane stairway there’s flashes of cameras and reporters yelling out Steve’s name, asking him to _‘look here no over here! Flash a smile, give ya dame a kiss Captain!_ ’ Steve ducks his head lower helping clear the way for Peggy to walk even as she seemed unbothered, elbowing her way towards the sleek black car at the edge of the tarmac.

 

“Rogers! Over here my man,” Howard calls pushing himself off the car and taking off his sunglasses in one fluid motion. Dugan sits in the drivers seat giving him a wave and smiling brightly at Peggy.

Steve smiles widely embracing Howard Stark, he can see the resemblances now between Tony and his father. The same smirk and glint in their eyes and of course how tactile they are as Steve pushes Howards hands off his chest.

“Peggy darling, ready for three days of nonstop work and then Roger’s birthday party?” Howard start talking a mile a minute about the Fourth of July and the ball Howard was throwing and about all the war veterans he had invited and how many eligible ladies there would be at the dance.

Steve zones out taking in his city. He had gotten used to the New York of the twenty first century, it was weird not having Avengers Tower in his line of sight and not seeing sports cars and young kids on hover bikes riding through out the streets.

It was weird for him back in 2012 he had missed the old brownstones currently staring back at him, the old mom and pop shops and the open grocery markets where you could haggle over a chunk of meat instead of having JARVIS order a months worth of groceries.

Yet this wasn’t his home anymore, he supposes it never was.

 

At Howards New York home Steve quickly leaves Peggy to unpack the luggage and goes to find Howard, he was the most likely candidate to get him out of here.

He finds him in his lab of course tinkering away at a radio humming jazz under his breath. “Howard, mind if I talk to you?”

“Course not Rogers, I was just needing an excuse to go out for a drink,” Howard stands putting his arm around Steve’s waist. “Peggy won’t mind right?”

Steve chuckles, he can guess what Peggy’s reaction would be but he really needed to talk to Howard. “As long as we’re back in time for that luncheon.”

“Sure thing pal.”

 

 

**330 pm**

They both order beers and fried catfish to start off with, Steve digging in happily. The bar was dark and unknown the patrons leaving him and Stark alone.

“So Howard, lets pretend I don’t remember the past five years at all; what are the important dates I need to know. Important information?” Steve asks leaning in close to Howard.

The man smiles dangerously and leans in. “If you were losing time again pal you could’ve just said so, but I’ll help you out.”

He learns that Bucky did survive but Steve still went into the ice anyways to save New York and the world. Eight months later Howard found him because Steve was able to get the coordinates to Peggy in time.

Steve married Peggy in 1947 in September in London and the three of them started the SSR, and they all lived in Malibu now after a Red Room incident that involved nuclear weapons.

The world was still obviously obsessed with Captain America and Steve usually went on press tours and did radio shows and other media things, Captain America did military missions covert and undercover with the help of the Howling Commandos who were employed by the SSR.

**5 pm.**

The move on to vodka waters and even though Steve can’t get drunk he feels like it as he laughs at everything Howard is telling him. It reminds him of Tony a lot, especially when Howard says he wants to change the future and create bigger and better things for humanity. Steve wanders where Howard went wrong with all that, giving Howard a sad smile.

Howard becomes flirtatious, flirting with any person that comes their way even directing his quips at Steve sometimes.

They move on to talking about the impending war in Korea and the even worse Cold war that’s brewing right under their noses. War, everyone wanted Captain America to fight their wars.

**630 pm**

The door to the bar slams open and Steve and Howard direct their gazes towards the dim light pouring in and immediately sober up.

Peggy and Dum Dum come striding towards them dressed in their evening wear and ready for VA gala they should all be at currently. “I can excuse the luncheon we were supposed to attend because those are quite boring but you two cannot miss this dinner! We need the funding, so lets go boys we don’t have time to stop by the house and let you two change.”

Dum Dum rolls his eyes at the guys but claps Steve heartily on the back. Steve smiles at him. Oh how he’d missed his friends when he’d woken up in the future. Maybe now he could reconnect with all of them.

“Lets go Cap we can’t keep Ms. Carter and all those suits waiting any longer.”

Steve ducks another of Dum Dum’s claps and wraps his arm around Peggy’s waist instead, helping her out of the bar.

Maybe it wasn’t a mistake he ended up here.

~

~

“I need you to connect me to Dr. Strange, Stephan Strange.” Bucky whispers to Visions head connecting the charger under his neck to the computer outlet directly next to him.

“Dr. Stephan Strange died almost fifteen years ago at the Second Battle of New York, he had no living relatives or next of kin.” Vision’s eyes flash open the mind stone briefly glowing bright gold.

Bucky jumps about three feet in the air and almost lets out a scream, almost. “Damnit Vis, no! I need you to find me another Stephan Strange, in another universe like 2019 and the Avengers are very much alive and kicking.”

Vision closes his eyes and hums.

Bucky rolls his eyes and wanders around the junk room, the young avengers had lovingly called it, and picks up random cd’s and knick knacks that littered the shelves. These kids needed to work on their cleaning skills.

“I found, quite exhaustingly too, three timelines that meet your criteria Sergeant Barnes. Would you like me to project them on the wall?”

Bucky is about to answer yes when Loki and Torrunn stride in their weapons clinking at their sides. Loki smiles brightly, making Bucky feel uneasy… if he was anything like the Loki he had heard about…

“Dinner’s ready, America cooked Greek tonight!”

Torrunn laughs brightly and hands Bucky a duffle bag. “Your belongings are in there.”

The two turn on their heels and walk out the door motioning for Bucky to follow them. Maybe he can check out these leads later, right now food did sound pretty good.

 

At the dinner table Bucky listens aptly to the young adults speak over each other, talking about various mundane things to how personal missions went. He listens while he eats, wishing he had Steve here with him. He didn’t know how to manage children, hell he kinda wished Stark was here they were both better off with how to deal teenagers. Even so teenagers that were ready to go to war.

As America and Kate bring out a misshapen chocolate cake and extra plates Bucky finally speaks up. “So tell me about Ultron, last I heard he was scrap metal.”

The room stills and the Young Avengers all share looks with one another.

America is the first to speak up, “Don’t taunt, he’s everywhere we can’t even be sure our compound is safe anymore that’s how strong he is now.”

“But how did he get to that point?” Bucky asks again leaning forward, he can his metal arm whirr pressing into the wooden table. He’d seen the head in Tony’s lab, seen Bruce and Dr. Cho erase the files and strains of Ultron off the internet. How did he come back?

James speaks up stabbing a fork at Bucky’s direction. “After the Infinity Wars, Iron Man and Captain America agreed Earth needed a stronger defense, something stronger than themselves. With the Scarlet Witch’s help and Stark’s habit of creating sentient AI what started off as a bunch of satellites turned into Ultron 2.0 in the span of five years.”

“Then everything went to shit,” Kate snaps. “And now we’re here and if you guys don’t shut –”

 An alarm rings out, shrill and bright red lights spinning overhead. Bucky and the rest of the Young Avengers stand up, Loki magically drawing up with staff and a few daggers.

“He’s close by,” He murmurs.

Bucky looks heavenward cursing his luck and cursing both Strange and Scott for fucking up the portals again. He sighs and starts jogging to the locker room where the rest of the kids are scrambling to fit on their gear and strap on their weapons.

Goddamnit Steve, just had to go and drag me out of the soul world. I liked it there, had Sam and the Spider-kid and everything. No, he sighs under his breath, had to be a sap and want the love of his life back. He was gunna have words with Steve if he made it back to Wakanda.

Bucky grabs a gun and cocks, looks like the fight was never far behind him.


	12. An Ode to Nostalgia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky finds his reason to help out the Young Avengers and how to get back home, but will Steve want to leave the nostalgia of a life that had been promised to him long ago..

Steve walked in to the ballroom of the Plaza Hotel with Peggy on his arm looking beautiful as always dressed up in a tight green dress that showed off all her curves, her hair expertly pinned into ringlets that Steve personally knew took about an hour each night. Of course, there was also the pistol on her thigh and the twin knives in her purse that completed the outfit, which was driving Steve wild.

Peggy smiles up at him and straightens out his tie, her fingertips lingering over his chest as she winks up at him.

Steve smiles back already feeling the sweat pool at his forehead the lights are too bright and Howard is already passing the both of them champagne flutes. He can distantly hear the shutters of cameras go off calling for him and Howard to pose.

They both walk further into the ballroom and Steve recognizes many of the soldiers he had fought alongside with. So, this is how it would’ve been, Steve thinks, if he hadn’t gone into the ice; a fucking comedy act.

They stop to talk to senators and heiresses looking for a good time and money to spend. Steve drifts more and more towards the corners opting to reconnect with some of his old troop mates, catching up with Dernier and Falsworth.

Steve finally finds himself tucked away at a small table with the two and Howard, looking over maps of Siberia and Moscow talking about going on another mission. He’s eating cocktail shrimp by the handful chasing it down with beer as Falsworth lights up another cigarette.

“Hey you know those are bad for you,” Steve exclaims taking it out of his friends mouth and crushing it under his heel.

Falsworth looks stunned for all of five seconds before he bursts out laughing, slapping Steve on the shoulder. “Says the man who used to chain-smoke two packs in one hour. These things are fine Rogers, Doc says its good for the stress.”

Steve tries to talk over him, tries to explain that no they’re not really all that good when Howard passes him a coded letter and he forgets everything for another twenty minutes.

Peggy has joined them sipping on champagne and pointing out the weak spots in their plans when Steve gets an idea. “Where the hell is Buck he’d probably shape this plan into something workable.” Steve looks around the ballroom thinking maybe he sees him on the dance floor twirling a dame about in circles.

The table stays quiet, no one so much as looking at Steve in the eye. Peggy lays a hand on him and shakes her. “Don’t push it,” is all she says before taking off and greeting the Vice President with a smile and kiss on the cheek.

Steve marches after her much to the protestations of his friends. She’s talking about taking money from an offshore account, setting up some spies in Panama and Columbia in turn the SSR would get an official office in D.C.

“So this is how it is now,” Steve interrupts. “Taking bribes and compromising our morals? I thought we’d all left that in a trench in Germany.”

“Steve! You’ve had too much to drink, excuse me Mr. Vice President.” Peggy shoves them onto the dance floor and Steve automatically wraps his arm around her waist bringing her in close enough to see the fury in her eyes.

“Have you lost your mind Rogers, where is all this coming from?” Peggy hisses leading the dance. “We need that money or the SSR won’t leave the shitty backroom in a shitty theater in Los Angeles.”

“I didn’t think SHIELD was built on bribes and corruption Peggy,” Steve hisses back forgetting that SHIELD won’t be a thing for another fifteen years.

“SHIELD? What are you on about, and what’s with all this talk about Barnes? You haven’t spoken about him in years!”

Steve loosens his grip on Peggy’s waist taking a small step back. “What are you talking about I lo—Bucky’s my best friend.”

Peggy’s face softens and she pushes a stray strand of hair out of Steve’s face tracing his features gently. “I know you loved him Steve, and that fight you two got in might never be forgiven but its in the past now. I don’t know what’s going on but this is reality now, Barnes hasn’t been part of our lives for quite some time now.”

That’s when Steve’s sees him he’s at the bar handing a drink to Becca, his sister dressed beautifully in a light blue dress that matches Bucky’s eyes. He knocks his head back in laughter, shaking heartily.

Their eyes meet and Steve’s chest tightens at the sight of those steel blue eyes he knows all too well. Buck’s face twists into a scowl and he turns on his heel almost running out the room.

Steve chases after him ignoring Peggy’s warnings.

“Bucky! Bucky!” Steve calls catching up to his friend.

Bucky stops right at the doors, there’s still reporters and journalists outside the hotel watching them both with wide eyes. “Captain,” Bucky salutes, giving Steve an easy smile but Steve can see the anger in his eyes the set of his jaw.

“Bucky please, you don’t have to do that.” Steve huffs out ignoring the urge to reach out for Bucky and pull him in. Bucky inclines his head towards the reporters as if saying we’re putting on a show for them.

“Buck please, I’m sorry—” Bucky snorts but doesn’t budge still staring straight into Steve’s soul. “I don’t remember anything, I’ve lost… my memory.”

The anger disappears for a moment before returning full force and he shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter Stevie, I don’t recognize the man you’ve become. I asked you to come home, to stay home with me, and now look at you. Look at you and Carter, now look at me. Nothing can be the same anymore.”

They both stare at each other and Steve can feel his eyes beginning to water. He takes a good look at Bucky and blanches, noticing the missing arm. _Oh Bucky_ , He’s still so very much handsome and Steve begins to wander if maybe this universe wasn’t all that cut out to be. 

He wanted to go home. To the home he and Bucky built in the twenty first century. This wasn’t it no matter how badly he had longed for this.

Becca walks up to them placing a hand on Bucky’s shoulder glancing at Steve. She gives him a curt nod and looks up at Bucky quizzically. “Everything alright Bucky?”

Bucky finally tears his gaze away from Steve and gives a small smile to his sister. He salutes Steve once more and turns around, looking over shoulder.

“I was just reminding Captain America that some wounds never heal. Lets get outta here Becca.” They both walk out the hotel never once looking back. Steve knows better than to run after them.

 

He walks a bit, getting lost until he finds himself in the patio garden of the hotel and stands by the small fountain. He fumbles for a bit reaching into his pockets until he finds what he’s looking for.

A pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

He’s just about to take a drag of the first one when an old man wanders into his view wearing a Civil War uniform with World War 1 medals attached at the lapels. Steve watches him whistle and pick up rocks.

“Son looks like we need to get you to the right universe,” The old man speaks clearly looking Steve in the eyes. He adjusts his glasses and nods. “Yep you don’t belong here that’s for sure.”

“And how do I get back?” Steve asks thinking the man looked familiar, he just couldn’t place him where.

“When you’re ready just go back to your home. Excelsior!” With a wink the old man fades into the shadows seemingly by magic leaving Steve by himself cigarette ash dusting the floor.

He twists and turns trying to find a glimpse of the old man but there’s nothing in the shadows.

“Steve,” Peggy calls walking towards him from the hotel. “Let’s go home.”

~

Bucky tried to keep track of the kids but they were too damn fast sprinting in and around him, firing off their own weapons. He ducks and rolls trying to cover Kate’s six and stop a flying robot from hitting him square in the gut.

“Stop worrying over us and go kick some robot ass!” America chides from across the room slamming her fist against a shiny blue button. The heavy metal door attached groans upwards and reveals a shiny Wakandan quinjet, piloted by the queen herself.

Bucky smiles widely and cocks his gun to the side firing off three rounds to two robots heading his way. One minute it was a quiet awkward dinner and the next shiny silver robots with dull red eyes came crashing through the windows… and shit if those fuckers weren’t easy to kill.

“Everyone to the jet!” James calls slamming his holoshield into another robot before breaking into a run the rest of the Avengers following along closely.

Bucky’s the only one to hang back, waiting until all the kids are in front of him before running.

“Wait we forgot Vision!” Billy calls out trying to climb back down the jet, America stops him shaking her head.

Vision! Bucky spins around holding up his metal arm in time to meet a nasty punch from a robot. “I’ll get him,” he growls shoving his way through the different robots taunting him and attacking him.

He backtracks until he finds the storage closet the kids had stuffed Vision in, kicking in the door when it doesn’t budge. He runs up and grabs Vision's head shoving it into his bag quickly.

He turns a corner and run straight into Loki’s chest.

“Oh there you are I’ve been looking for you,” Loki says nonchalant. “Where have you been Soldier?”

Bucky flinches inwardly but otherwise doesn’t let Loki in on anything going on in his head. He just nods, showing Loki Visions head.

“Oh good,” Loki claps blue and green magic swirling in the air. “Another me from a different time and place has suggested I send you back to where you belong. Apparently, it’s been quite a while.”

“A while?” Bucky questions taking a step back from Loki. He barely trusted the Loki back in 2019 Wakanada, this younger version probably wasn’t all team bonding and gung ho either.

Loki huffs out a breath and crosses his arms, “Like I said we don’t have all day here, my magic will only keep those robots away for so long. Do you want to go back to your time or not?”

“What about the kids, I can’t just leave them to deal with this,” Bucky spreads out his arms widely.

Loki just shrugs. “They’ll be fine, Banner’s out there somewhere and an aging Spider-Man. Thor, the blasted idiot might even return to earth to help his daughter out. You have to save your Earth now.”

Bucky nods slowly. “Okay. Time to go then.”

“Well actually I’ll keep Vision’s head,” Loki pushes off against the wall pulling off the mind stone with his bare hands and trapping it in a jelly-looking orb, he passes it off to Bucky keeping Visions head planted firmly under his arm.

A portal opens and Bucky can just make out Thor and Loki (older and dressed in sweats for some reason) looking anxious and concerned.

“On your way Barnes, I am part of the Young Avengers believe or it or not,” younger Loki snaps and all but shoves Bucky through the portal.

He gets one last look at kid Loki twisting in pain as a blade plunges into his side. Bucky reaches for him knowing it was useless, he was already free-falling.

Bucky shuts his eyes and falls.

Landing hard on Loki’s back. He cracks one eye open and looks at his metal hand, slowly uncurling his fingers.

The mind stone still rested in his palm trapped in its jelly casing pulsing a dull gold.

~

The drive back to Howard’s home is tense and stiff. Steve keeps his head firmly against the window closing his eyes and feigning sleep while Peggy and Howard whisper to each other. No one notices the few tears slip out the corners of his eyes.

“He’s never lost this much time before Stark, maybe we should run some tests on him.”

“You really think he’d agree to tests now, the way he’s been acting? It’s like he’s still that naïve guy sometimes.”

“Well at least we have Zola working for the SSR now and we’ll be able to build our offices in D.C soon.”

“Maybe Rogers is right Pegs, why are we taking bribes we all made oaths and promises when we formed the SSR. There has to be another way.”

“And if there isn’t?”

  
Steve decides that enough and bangs his feet against Peggy’s seat and yawns loudly. “Are we at the house already?”

“No” Both Howard and Peggy snap.

He sighs and stares out the window squinting as the car comes to a red light above him the lights of Manhattan hide the stars.

~

The day of his birthday is met with so much fanfare it hurts his senses. It starts early in the morning that damn USO song on the radio and a parade already going on in the streets. Steve rolls over in bed covering his head with a pillow. At least in the twenty first century none of this ever happened.

There’s a knock before Peggy strides in already dressed in a navy-blue pantsuit her hair rolled casually at her neck. Behind her Jarvis walks in holding a cake lit with candles and a full breakfast laid out on a tray.

Steve sits up if only to appreciate Jarvis’ hard work and takes the breakfast tray gingerly, smiling as best he could. “You guys really shouldn’t have,” he says looking at the cake, the candles already melting into the frosting.

“Shouldn’t have? It’s your birthday Captain you deserve to celebrate in privacy before tonight’s party.” Jarvis says warmly motioning for Steve to blow out his candles.

“Party?” Steve raises an eyebrow after he blows out the candles digging into the scrambled eggs and pancakes to the right of him.

Peggy clears her throat, “Well um you know how Howard always throws you a party here, well this year we decided to have it in Central Park, you know so the rest of New York can Celebrate Captain America’s – um your birthday Steve.”

Steve stares at her until she glances out the window. A warning bell goes off in his head but until he figured out how to get home he was stuck playing along to this scheme. “Alright, I guess I can go for a late barbecue.”

Peggy claps showing real emotion and pulling him into a kiss. “Its settled then we do what we need to before supper and then we’ll head to Central Park around 6.”

Steve hands Jarvis the breakfast and gingerly gets out of bed trying his best to ignore the fact he is just in his boxers and quickly strides to the bathroom, locking the door. He can hear Peggy and Jarvis talking quietly the bedroom closing shut a minute later.

He looks in the mirror, turning on the facet and splashing his face several times. This isn’t real he whispered to himself, this isn’t real.

 

Throughout the day Steve and Peggy make various stops. First; they have breakfast with the Vice President, his wife, and the mayor. Peggy making sure Steve apologizes profusely for his outburst the other day and takes a photo with the Mayor’s son to seal the deal. The breakfast is stuffy and boring and they only leave until after the mayor writes a check to the SSR and the Vice President hands a file over to Steve that contains the deed to the new land to build what would become SHIELD headquarters.

Steve massages his temples as they climb into the car and Peggy tells the driver the next place they are heading to; Dodgers Stadium to pitch the first ball for the game. He rolls his eyes and takes out his sketch pad, trying to commit the New York of his old life to memory.

It’s something he had always dreamed about, pitching for the Brooklyn Dodgers, but this feels empty. It doesn’t sit right on his chest as he throws the ball, the new upstart Jackie Robinson hitting a perfect homerun.

Howard joins them for a light lunch at the MET and the three of them stroll through the exhibits, Steve looks at them with detail and as they go on starts to feel shame as he reads some of the descriptions and audio tapes available. He had gotten used to modern life, the twenty-first century thinking was making him realize just how rosy his lenses had been back then and he had thought he and Bucky were forward thinking men at the time.

He sighs and ducks his head moving on to the next exhibit.

 

At six thirty they finally arrive at Central Park which had somehow been decorated with balloons and streamers on the lampposts and street lights, benches had fresh flowers tied onto them and there were already people making camp, setting out picnic blankets and digging into meals.

Howard leads them to where the main camp, right in the middle where the pond is. What looks like the entire Army is there along with a band and a singer crooning away on the stage. Steve looks around messing with the tie on his Army uniform trying to find his friends at least. There were so many people already here tables set up and a large catering table doling out food by the heaps.

“Captain America! Agent Carter, right this way!” a man the Steve most likely was Bing Crosby yells waving them over to the biggest table, already packed with the Howlies, politicians, actors, and athletes.

“Everyone make way for the birthday boy: Captain America!” The singer purrs over the microphone and through the applause, Steve and Peggy walk up to the table.

He thinks he’ll be fine as long as he didn’t have to make a speech.

 

 

He was not fine.

He couldn’t breathe, too many people not enough space.

Too many people touching him.

Where was Tony and Happy they would know what to do.

Or Nat, where was his team?

Steve stands knocking over the iced tea he had been sipping on. He looks around not recognizing the faces staring at him. A woman giggles into her napkin, turning to comment to her friend sitting beside her.

“Um excuse me, I thought I saw someone I know. Be right back,” Steve manages to grind out, swearing to himself as he marched away from the table. He can feel Peggy, Howard, and Morita following behind him.

“You’re going to miss the firework show if you don’t stick around,” Peggy comments sounding strained as Steve walks away from her. “Stay, please?”

“I’ll be back before it begins, promise. Just need to clear my head.” Steve mumbles and walks away, leaving behind the buzz of the band the pulsing of the crowds around him. As he walks away from the park kids come up to him to wish him happy birthday, a few pressing drawings and candy into his hands.

He laughs and takes it generously, never one to deny the kids.

He walks aimlessly for a few blocks before deciding to head to Brooklyn, see his old neighborhood as he remembered it.

Two trains later and the sun dipping low he finds himself at his and Bucky’s old apartment. Their room was already rented out to someone else but he figured it wouldn’t hurt if he took the fire escape up to the roof to watch the fireworks for the rest of the night.

He climbs easily, making sure he doesn’t stay too long in front of windows and hauls himself up over the edge a minute later. He chuckles to himself oh how the old sickly and skinny Steve would’ve loved to do that.

He situates himself at just the right angle where he knows they usually set off the Fourth of July fireworks. The sun dips behind the skyline of New York the red and oranges melting into deep purples and blues, a few bright stars make it through the clouds and light pollution and Steve smiles.

About half an hour later the first of the fireworks begin going off and Steve settles on an old stone bench and watches with awe fighting back tears as his childhood memories play in the back of your mind.

“So I’m assuming you never told Peggy the Fourth of July isn’t your real birthday huh pal?”

Steve jumps up, fists high and ready to strike when his brain catches up to him. “Bucky?”

His friend, ex-friend, shrugs and lights up a cigarette dangerously taking a drag and blowing the smoke back in Steve’s face. “Guess not then if this whole she-bang is still going on five years later.”

“It’s a little ridiculous,” Steve states trying his hardest not to freak because he didn’t want to scare Bucky away, it was like handling the Winter Soldier all over again. “I’d prefer something much more… boring.”

Bucky lets out a hallow laugh, “Really? You say that now but before you loved all this shit, its why we fought so much or did you forget that too?”

Steve can feel the irritation rise in his chest and strains to bite down on it. “How’d you get up here anyways? You don’t live here.”

Bucky clucks his tongue blowing more smoke his way. “Listen Rogers I may have lost an arm but I’m not an invalid, plus I have the serum same as you punk.”

Steve tries not to outwardly reel, the heat in his cheeks giving away his embarrassment. “Right, Zola.”

“Yeah, right… Zola.” Bucky snorts flicking away his cigarette. “And you let Peggy hire him as lead scientist. What a dumb—”

“Can we just watch the goddamn fireworks?” Steve grits out, making a show of turning back around to the flashing lights going off above them.

They sit in silence for a long while the minutes stretching and firework shows becoming more and more elaborate and festive. Steve can hear kids out on the streets playing and squealing each time a loud bottle rocket goes off or the fireworks make a loud POP!

So much time goes by that Steve thinks Bucky must’ve slipped away when the brunet finally speaks up. “I remember telling you that those fireworks went off just for you, every goddamn year and you just ate it up never mind that your birthday is in fucking June. You always looked like I set the world on fire for you.”

“Because you did, you still do,” Steve breathes out not daring to look over. “Whatever happened between us can’t we at least try and mend it some?”

Bucky stills for a moment before letting out a long groan slapping Steve on the shoulder. “You don’t get it do you! You made your choice, you chose her not me there’s no coming back from that Stevie. I offered you a life, a small one maybe but no you wanted all this crap,” He spreads his arm out encompassing what Steve knows is the parades, the firework shows, the kiss ass-ing. “So I said fine and tried to move on with my life but then you asked for my blood so you could try and replicate the one thing that I wished killed me? Fuck no, I’m leaving I don’t know why I came here tonight. Happy birthday Cap.”

The weariness in his face just about breaks Steve seeing Bucky, even if its not exactly his Bucky, this hurt and beaten up about some foolishness this Steve had done.

“Come home with me,” Steve breathes out reaching out for Bucky’s hand it stills the man, Bucky letting out a soft snort.

“Think Pegs would kill the both of us.”

“No—I mean, god I don’t know just trust me. Come home with me, I want to go home.” Steve tries to explain, trying to remember what that old man had said. When the time is right, just go home.

“Listen Stevie, that ship has sailed long ago,” Bucky tries again but Steve doesn’t budge, instead pulling Bucky close to his chest staring deeply into those steel blue eyes he loved so much.

“Come home with me, to our home. I miss it, I want to go home,” Steve emphasizes tugging at a strand of Bucky’s hair. “And we can just talk.”

Something must click in Bucky’s head because he nods and says, “Yeah yeah breaking and entering my favorite pastime, lets go _punk_.”

Steve laughs softly and turns to get one last look. The last firework goes up a bright silver one the lights up the sky as if the stars had come closer just for Steve’s birthday. Just for him and Bucky.

They race down the floors stopping at the third floor and counting the numbers on the door.

“This is it,” Bucky breaths out giving Steve a small smile. “To new beginnings?”

“To new beginnings.” Steve whispers. “Take me home.”

Bucky reaches over gently kissing him on the cheek before throwing the door wide open.

He disappears into the apartment and Steve follows close behind him the apartment lights coming on. Glowing bright.

And brighter

And brighter.

Steve screws his eyes shut as the lights become blinding glowing silver around the edges. It doesn’t matter anyways, Bucky’s right there a few steps ahead of him. He’s home now.

~

Steve’s eyes snap open and Bucky all about loses his shit, damn everyone with their personal space he’s gunna get right up in front of that big dumb blonde’s face and—

“Don’t you ever fucking leave me like that again! Ya hear me you punk? Don’t ever fucking leave me in some cold, desolate, creepy—” Bucky’s voice cracks and he buries himself in Steve’s chest, the rest of the Avengers and Wakadan royalty be damned. He’s earned his right to be emotional today.

Fuck the Mind Stone man. His boyfriend was back from… what had Loki said… oh yeah freaking 1949.

Steve grins up at him from the couch Thor had moved him to and strokes his hair. “I’m here baby, I’m here and I’m not leaving again.

“I’m home.” Bucky doesn’t wait to press his lips against Steve, smiling when he feels Steve tug at his hair.

Someone clears their throat and Bucky moves his head a couple centimeters to the left. “What?” he growls.

Clint holds his hands up a panicked look on his face. “Not to interrupt a happy reunion but where are Tasha and Carol?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thank you to everyone that keeps reading this fic and leaving comments and kudos, you're the best!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading... :)   
> sorry for all the angst in this one.


End file.
